Port Washington-Saukville leaders outline $1.2 million gap, propose staffing adjustments including related-arts reductions

The Port Washington-Saukville School District told the board it is facing a projected $1,200,000 budget shortfall for the 2025–26 school year and presented a package of staffing and benefit changes intended to close the gap.

Superintendent Michael McMahon said the deficit "did not come as a surprise" and that administrators have identified cost-saving measures ranging from energy-use changes to staffing adjustments. He explained that about "83 to 84% of our budget [is] allocated to salaries and benefits," and said the district is pursuing a mix of short- and longer-term steps to balance the budget.

The superintendent and principals described specific staffing proposals the district is using to model a balanced budget: a net reduction of six elementary classroom teachers across the district (4K–4), and adjustments to related-arts full-time equivalencies (FTEs) that administration projects will save approximately $96,000. Under the draft plan shared with the board, Lincoln Elementary art and music would move to 0.8 FTE each, Dunwoody art/music to 0.91 FTE, and Saukville art/music to 0.88 FTE; district leaders said students would receive the same or slightly increased minutes of art, music or physical education through a scheduling change called "Related Arts Plus." The administration said those moves would preserve target elementary class sizes while reducing overall FTE.

Board members and administrators repeatedly emphasized that the numbers are live. McMahon told the board the district must follow statutory timelines for staff notices and that "preliminary notices of non renewal for teachers must be provided on or before April 30" with final nonrenewal notices beginning May 15, and that staffing remains "fluid" as the district evaluates attrition, retirements and final enrollment counts.

Teachers and parents pressed the board during public comment. Meghan Jacoby, speaking for the Port Washington-Saukville Education Association (PWSEA), said, "we still face a $1,200,000 deficit being solved on the backs of our teachers," and urged the district to pursue alternatives to issuing nonrenewal notices. Parent and longtime educator Mary Cook described veteran teachers as "exemplary" and asked the board to reconsider placing the burden of mismanagement on senior staff. Joseph Birch and Brittany Ward, both arts educators and parents, warned that cutting related-arts positions to part time will create "a constant revolving door" and hurt recruitment and retention. Elizabeth Allen asked whether administrators had reduced their own costs and called for greater transparency.

Administrators outlined other steps they have taken or plan to pursue: bulk purchasing of supplies, revising health-insurance plan design to hold premiums flat for 2025–26, a compensation committee review that would expand limited post‑retirement benefits to a larger pool of employees, and closer tracking of enrollment using Infinite Campus. McMahon said staff reductions would be targeted to minimize classroom impacts and that the district has been monitoring declining enrollment for several years.

Discussion, not a final board decision, dominated the item; the board received the budget update and directed staff to continue analysis and to bring specific recommended policy or contract language back for committee and board action. Board members asked for further data on class-size projections, potential reassignments by building, and exit‑interview themes. Administration said it will present more detailed personnel recommendations before the May 15 statutory deadline for final nonrenewals.

What comes next: administrators will finalize recommended personnel actions with principals, continue negotiations over benefit and compensation items, monitor May 15 open‑enrollment and transfer requests that can affect 2025–26 staffing, and return to the board with formal motions where required.