MPS music report highlights staffing gains, persistent vacancies and proposed funding change to reduce part‑time roles

Sherry Garcia, the district’s music curriculum specialist, told the Board Committee on Instruction that Milwaukee Public Schools has expanded music staffing and student opportunities since 2020 but still faces dozens of part‑time vacancies and alignment challenges that a revised funding formula could address.

The update is notable because it reports both measurable program growth — including more traveling music hours, growing drumline participation and a central music library — and a proposal to change how art and music positions are funded so small fractional assignments are easier to fill.

Garcia reported current staffing and service data: about 133 music staff in 2024–25, including 105 classroom teachers serving 95 schools, 24 traveling music teachers serving 54 schools, two music teacher leaders who coach new teachers, and two instrument specialists who processed more than 500 requests and maintain an inventory of over 7,000 instruments. She said traveling music hours are planned to increase from 282 hours to 425 hours in the 2025–26 school year under board policy requirements that link hours to school purchases.

To address frequent 0.2–0.3 part‑time assignments that are hard to fill, Garcia said she has "proposed a different funding formula for art, music, and physical education that would eliminate these odd numbers, and make any part time position parable with any other. My calculations show that this would not be significantly more expensive, but it could result in many more filled positions in art and music." (Sherry Garcia, Music Curriculum Specialist) She recommended consideration of the funding change for fiscal year 2027.

Garcia also described alignment work using feeder-pattern analysis intended to improve continuity from K–8 into high school music programs. She presented Milwaukee School of Languages as a model, where 86% of middle‑school students come from language immersion K–5 schools and 91% of eighth graders remain through grade 12, a pattern that supports program continuity. By contrast, Milwaukee High School of the Arts draws students from roughly 80 feeder schools, and Garcia said only 36% of incoming MHSA students attended an arts K–8 or middle school; she used that data to argue for targeted support to build alignment and equity among arts feeder schools.

Megan Heinrich, a district music teacher and public commenter, praised the music teacher-leader model and said the recent biennial music festival and other events showed strong progress: "To say that there has been a sea change in music in Milwaukee public schools in the last 5 years would be an understatement." (Megan Heinrich)

Committee members asked clarifying questions about where the district music library is housed (Garcia said it is digitally hosted with physical materials at Elm Creative Arts School) and what the district means by music technology (platforms such as Soundtrap for Chromebooks and industry DAWs such as Ableton for higher‑level coursework).

Other program notes Garcia offered: growth in drumline competitions (from 10 to 17 drumlines in one year), an increase in WSMA large-group entries (from about 500 to more than 800 entries year over year), plans for a shared music lab at Rufus King and upgraded piano lab equipment at Milwaukee High School of the Arts, and new all‑city ensembles such as an indoor percussion program intended to lead to competitive opportunities.

The presentation closed with board members expressing support for Garcia’s proposals and interest in working on alignment and funding changes; no formal board action was taken on the funding formula during the meeting.