There’s a lot of talk about how Milwaukee Public Schools needs radical change, but not much agreement on how to get there.
On May 7, Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius announced that she is moving 40 teachers currently assigned to the district’s central office into classrooms. She’s also cutting 140 more jobs from the central office, but all of those jobs will be reposted for employees to apply to if they wish.
The process, called “excessing,” allows the district to relocate the jobs to certain schools or change the job descriptions.
Some of the positions cut are literacy specialists and academic coaches — people who work directly with educators at multiple schools. Julie Hapeman is a teacher of the visually impaired whose job was cut. She spoke at the May 13 school board meeting.
“Many assumed that these were administrative or non-teaching roles. In reality, many of these positions belong to itinerant teachers who work face to face with students every day,” Hapeman said. “While we may not stand at the front of the classroom, we are at the back, the sides, the hallways ... wherever we find space to deliver specialized instruction mandated by IEPs.”
IEPs are individualized education plans for students with disabilities.
The first wave of staffing changes also infuriated employees because the cuts were announced during Teacher Appreciation Week and did not seem to run according to seniority protections in the Milwaukee teacher’s union contract.
Cassellius argues that the restructuring is needed to fill an expected 80 vacant teaching positions in the fall. The school board did not need to approve this part of the staff restructuring.
Superintendent announces more job cuts at MPS central office
The changes didn’t stop there.
Cassellius also wants to restructure the district’s administration by cutting 31 jobs from the central office and adding 12 new ones. The new jobs include a chief of staff, chief operations officer, six positions overseeing elementary schools and another two overseeing high schools.
MPS’s existing staff structure includes unusual configurations, such as a chief communication officer who oversees charter schools and a chief financial officer who also oversees school nutrition. Under the new structure, charter schools would be overseen by a new chief of families, communities and partnerships. Nutrition would fall under the chief operations officer.
Cassellius is also proposing hiring two in-house attorneys to handle school district business.
Cassellius says that round of changes responds to mounting pressures from the state, the health department and parents for an overhaul at MPS. She ticked off those external pressures May 13.
“We have the corrective action plan with the state and finance, we have the ongoing lead issue that we are trying to do, we have student achievement focus that we need, we have a facilities study that is in works, we have an HR audit that is in the works,” she listed. “We have a governor’s audit for the operations and the academics. And our communications and HR department need significant support as well.”
Cassellius says she expects the administrative changes to be budget neutral, meaning they won't cost any money. But they won’t save any either.
While MPS School Board agrees to restructuring plan, the teachers' union pushes back
Earlier this month, the school board voted eight to zero to approve the new administrative structure.
Board Director Christopher Fons did not vote either way on the plan. He said the board deserved more notice of the new plan before being asked to vote.
“The implications of these kinds of things, there’s always unintended consequences and that’s why I’m nervous about going forward with this at this time,” he said.
As the restructuring of both administrative and classroom positions moves forward, some employees and union leaders are skeptical.
Ingrid Walker-Henry, president of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, said last week that the sudden changes instilled fear and uncertainty in the workforce.
“It does not make sense to excess 181 workers to turn around next month and bring 140 workers back,” she said. “Twenty-two departments that house teachers that were excessed, departments like deaf and hard of hearing, mentoring, special education support teachers and so many others, are now going to reapply. It just makes no sense.”
Walker-Henry fears more of the MPS staff cut will go to other school districts or industries instead of applying to get their jobs back.
MPS misses mandatory financial reporting deadline... again
In addition to facing backlash over the staffing changes, MPS is once again in hot water with the state.
The district just missed a May 16 deadline to file mandatory financial reports, which likely means a loss of some state funding.
The Department of Public Instruction said it will withhold funding to the district. DPI did not provide a timeline or the amount of money it would withhold.
MPS is now up against another reporting deadline May 30.
Katherine Kokal is the education reporter at 89.7 WUWM - Milwaukee's NPR. Have a question about schools or an education story idea? You can reach her at kokal@uwm.edu
