Teachers, parents and advocates challenge staffing cuts and call for clarity at Milwaukee School District FY2026 budget hearing

Dozens of educators and community members testified June 17 during a statutory public hearing on the Milwaukee School District's proposed fiscal 2026 budget, pressing the board to pause or reverse central-office staff “accessing” and to provide clearer school funding information.

The hearing, held in the Central Services Building auditorium and required under Wisconsin Statute 119.168, collected public testimony only; board members did not act on the superintendent's proposed budget at that meeting. The board may consider the FY2026 budget at its regular meeting on June 24, 2025.

"This accessing cuts more than positions. It removes people who provide critical expertise and training," public commenter Cara Slingerland told the board. She said district training capacity has been reduced after the reapplication process, citing that of 20 COMP (classroom management program) trainers, 15 were "accessed," and that 19 of 32 LETRS (structured literacy) moderators were accessed.

"The instructional audit ordered by Governor Evers found many systemic issues," public commenter Robin Harris said, but she added that requiring hundreds of teacher-support staff to reapply for their roles has been "messy, ineffective, and devaluing." Harris told the board that 181 employees had been accessed and 141 forced to reapply, remarks she used to argue the school system should review leadership layers as well as teacher-support positions.

Community members also raised school-level funding questions. "If South Division were to receive the extra $156 per pupil for each of their 928 students, that would total nearly $145,000 or another whole teacher FTE," said Lucas Weir, who asked whether the district's per-pupil allocation formula for FY2026 will ensure "systemic change for our most vulnerable students" and whether additional centralized supports account for special education and English-learner populations.

Another speaker urged the district to dedicate new state grant money to expanded summer training to accelerate literacy instruction. Quentin Klabon recommended reserving $2 million of Governor Evers' grant for intensive summer "master class" training to help teachers translate LETRS coursework into classroom practice.

Speakers described delays and personnel disruptions tied to the district's human resources processes, including a public account that a bilingual counselor hired in mid-April had not yet received a signed offer months later. Several testified that critical instructional roles and equity facilitators had been included in the accessing process.

The chair reminded the audience that the hearing's purpose was to gather testimony on the superintendent's proposed FY2026 budget and that no vote would occur at the session. Written testimony remains accepted by the Office of Board Governance.