Officials with Milwaukee Public Schools estimate the system will have 89 more classroom teaching positions next school year.
They say it's part of a plan to manage and reduce class sizes while building a balanced 2026-27 budget.
The investment in staffing comes as MPS officials say they're working to address a $46 million deficit identified in the district's 2024-25 budget by external auditors.
Officials with the district say they remain focused on protecting resources going directly to classrooms.
Along with the 89 new licensed classroom teaching positions, MPS officials say 63 more paraprofessional positions are being added, and 5 more school psychologist positions will be supported by a newly acquired federal grant.
District officials say there will be no change to the total number of art, music, and physical education teachers or the number of library positions.
Officials say they are taking steps to save money, including:
- a soft hiring freeze on nonessential positions
- $47 million in new referendum revenue
- $30 million from reductions in Central Services and non-classroom positions
- $11 million in increased state special education reimbursement
- $40 million in short-term savings resulting from fewer charter schools
MPS officials also anticipate $154 million to $171 million in new expenses, including:
- Eliminating the $46 million deficit
- $25 million to $42 million in wage increases
- $24.6 million for additional classroom positions to manage and reduce class size
- $20 million in increased employee benefit costs, including healthcare
MPS officials say they continue to face funding challenges, including more than 15 years without inflation-adjusted increases in general state aid and no new general aid in the 2025-27 budget. They say recent voter-approved referendums have offset but not replaced all lost funding.
MPS will present its final budget to the Milwaukee Board of School Directors in May.
A detailed budget presentation is posted here.
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