MPS budget hearing: parents, teachers urge restoration of community school coordinators as district defends staffing shifts

The Committee on Strategic Planning and Budget reviewed Superintendent Brinda Kesselus' proposed 2026-27 budget at a public meeting where parents, teachers and union leaders urged restoration of full-time community school coordinators and clearer funding for multilingual programs.

Superintendent Brinda Kesselus said the proposal is the product of stakeholder engagement and visits to multiple high schools, and noted the district has budgeted additions "including 150 plus teachers" and a roughly parallel increase in paraprofessional hours to support classrooms. She told the committee the proposal is informational and that the final permanent budget will return to the board for adoption in October, with possible adjustments if the Legislature changes special education funding.

Community school advocates said the district's earlier reliance on outside funding left services vulnerable when grants ended. "When the community school coordinator was lost, the work got more difficult and more work was put on the parent coordinator," said Yvette Sims, who asked the board to restore a full-time coordinator at Our Avenue. Former coordinators, school staff and union leaders described partnerships and services—health centers, youth councils, food pantries and after-school programs—that they say were disrupted when coordinator positions were cut.

Jessica Mendez, a former community school coordinator at South Division High School, urged a permanent commitment: "A community school coordinator position in all of the 16 community schools for the 26-27 school year," and asked that the district engage MTEA in updating administrative policy 9.14.

Ingrid Walker Henry, president of the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association, cited internal data she said shows community schools have seen increased family engagement, improved student-staff relationships and decreased suspensions since adopting the model.

Several speakers also pressed the district on changes to the Department of Multilingual and Multicultural Education. "How can the administration find funds to place 150 new additional teachers worth $25 million, but not funds to adequately fund a program that has grown from approximately 9,500 students five years ago to a little more than 12,000 today?" asked Luz Hernandez, a bilingual teacher and vice president of the union.

Administrators responded that the district is reorganizing some functions under the Office of Academics, that teacher leaders and materials will be trained over the summer, and that the Council of the Great City Schools has been asked to audit EL/bilingual services this fall to guide longer-term changes. Cheryl Halloran and Jennifer Mims Howell described a short-term plan of cross-training and additional materials in Spanish while the district works with partners including WIABE, MTEA and the Department of Public Instruction on compliance and implementation.

Brian Litsey, director of family, community and partnerships, said the United Way provided an executive on loan this year who supported eight community schools; administrators said capacity constraints and the end of the United Way grant limited participation beyond those eight schools.

Board members pressed for evaluation results and more transparent accounting. Director Amanda Seppanen and others asked whether staffing cuts announced earlier were later repurposed to create new classroom positions; administrators said central-office cuts addressed an immediate deficit and that some one-time savings were redirected to reduce class sizes and add teachers.

Administration briefed the committee on several fiscal points raised in public comment: a previously discussed $46 million gap that administration said was addressed through contract and short-term savings; an $18.5 million set of additional equity allocations to schools beyond standard-of-care budgeting; a rainy-day fund balance the administration said is $500,000; and a FY28 referendum contribution of about $14 million projected to be available next year. Officials also warned that charter revenue declines and rising costs (health care, energy) present ongoing fiscal constraints.

No amendments to the budget were introduced at the meeting. The committee scheduled a final discussion for May 26 and the board's expected adoption for May 28.

The committee hearing combined public testimony documenting local program impacts with administration statements about district-wide tradeoffs and near-term implementation steps; board members asked for written impact analyses, evaluation data on community-school fidelity, and clearer budget attachments before the vote.