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Board accepts impasse, directs phased 2.63% wage increase for teachers
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Summary
After a closed-session bargaining process and mediation, the Milwaukee Board of School Directors accepted an impasse determination and directed the administration to implement a phased 2.63% increase to base wages (1.5% on 07/01/2026 and 1.13% on 01/01/2027); the motion passed 7–1 with one recusal.
The Milwaukee Board of School Directors accepted a mediator’s impasse determination in negotiations with the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association (MTEA) and directed the administration to implement the district’s last, best and final offer: a phased 2.63% increase to base wages, split as 1.5% effective July 1, 2026, and 1.13% effective Jan. 1, 2027.
Assistant City Attorney Robert Sanders, counsel to the board, summarized the bargaining record in open session after the board returned from closed session. Sanders said the district’s financial outlook — including three independent audits and a January announcement of a $46,000,000 structural deficit — shaped the district’s bargaining posture. He told the board the district’s five-year forecast projected a cumulative deficit of about $420,500,000 over five years if not addressed, and that the district offered three timing options that all deliver a 2.63% increase but differ in when the increases take effect.
Sanders said MTEA proposed the full 2.63% cost-of-living adjustment applied in full on July 1, 2026. According to Sanders, mediation on April 27 narrowed the district’s position to a single option (Option 3) presented as the district’s best and final offer; Option 3 splits the 2.63% into a 1.5% increase on July 1, 2026, and a 1.13% increase on Jan. 1, 2027. The mediator, Peter Davis, declared impasse after MTEA rejected Option 3 in writing without a counterproposal.
Director Seemson moved that the board accept the April 27, 2026 impasse determination and direct the administration to implement the last, best and final offer; Director Jackson seconded. Counsel confirmed that the statute allows parties to reopen negotiations later only if both parties agree to do so. In the roll call, seven directors voted in favor, one voted no (Director Reza) and one recused (Director Benoit); the motion passed.
The board’s direction sends the phased wage increases into administrative implementation. Sanders framed the action as balancing the district’s legal obligation to adopt a balanced budget with the goal of delivering the maximum cost-of-living adjustment permitted by law.
The board announced its annual organizational meeting will begin after a brief recess.
