Parents and staff warn AP reductions will jeopardize school safety and climate

At the May 12 public hearing on the Milwaukee Public Schools FY2027 budget, several parents, teachers and district partners warned that cuts to assistant principals and deans will harm school safety and daily operations.

"We are losing our APs...removing embedded leadership from our school," said parent Kristen Payne, who described how Golda Meir Lower Campus relies on a named assistant principal for day-to-day safety, crisis response and family communication. Multiple speakers tied reductions in APs and deans to diminished capacity for restorative practices and for first-response behavioral management in schools.

Steven Lubar, executive director of the ASC, told the board that assistant principals and deans are often first responders to behavioral incidents and that removing those roles shifts schools from proactive restorative work to reactive discipline. "Without adequate leadership, teams and principals are forced to spend more time on operational and disciplinary issues rather than improving instruction," Lubar said.

Speakers also raised process concerns: they urged the board to publish the district’s enrollment-projection methodology and the rationale used to determine which schools lose administrative staff. Teachers and counselors warned that reductions could increase teacher burnout and accelerate attrition at a time when recruitment is already difficult.

The board took no action at the hearing; committee deliberations and opportunities for public comment are scheduled for May 19 and May 28, with final action expected May 28.