Milwaukee Public Schools will add 108 more positions and spend $11.7 million more than this school year under the proposed 2019-’20 budget, the first spending plan under Superintendent Keith Posley.
The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on the $1.2 billion budget at public hearings set for 6:30 p.m. May 9, May 21 and May 23 at MPS Central Services Auditorium in Milwaukee. The school board is scheduled to vote on the budget May 30.
The biggest portion of the budget comes from the school operations section, accounting for $944.7 million of the total plan. That’s a $1.5 million or 0.2% increase from last year.
The district says it is facing revenue limits lower than last year, which have hampered its ability to cover rising costs.
“Difficult choices have been made to ensure quality services for children without eroding the district’s limited fund balance,” district officials wrote in a budget summary.
About two-thirds of the MPS budget is devoted to paying teachers and other employees. The district has proposed adding 108 employees for next school year, including 62 more teachers and 22 more educational assistants.
The proposed plans include $1.3 million in cuts to the school nutrition budget, down to $52.7 million. The decrease is partly due to lower enrollment in meal programs, the district said. Some meal programs are funded at the state or federal level, and enrollment numbers are key in determining how much money the district gets for school nutrition.
“While there is an anticipated increase in the federal reimbursement rate for meals, the projected decrease in the number of meals served will result in decreased funding,” a district summary read.
The district said the plan puts 90 cents per dollar in the budget toward students, schools and staff, an increase from last year’s 88 cents per dollar.
Gov. Tony Evers’ state budget proposal calls for more money to go into schools, but given the uncertainty Evers’ plan will pass a Legislature vote in full, MPS officials said their budget was “responsibly developed following current law to project revenue.”
About 75,000 students are projected to attend 159 MPS schools next year, a similar enrollment number to this school year.
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Contact Sophie Carson at (414) 223-5512 or scarson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SCarson_News.
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