A contentious community meeting in Milwaukee on Monday left parents and neighbors pressing Milwaukee Public Schools for a more inclusive process before any decisions are made on which buildings to close or merge. Superintendent Brenda Cassellius told the crowd that school closures and mergers could still be decided this year, even though the advisory group charged with setting the criteria for those decisions had not yet finished its work.
The meeting centered on the district's Great Schools Committee, which was scheduled to determine criteria for selecting schools to close but did not reach that point during the session, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The 15-member advisory panel was formed by MPS in September to recommend closure and merger criteria to district leadership ahead of a planned presentation to the school board in November, according to WTMJ.
Parents Demand a Bigger Voice
Community meeting participants called for a more inclusive school closure process, per the same account from the Journal Sentinel's report on the gathering. The frustration follows an earlier outside consultant proposal that named six MPS elementary schools — Auer Avenue, Clarke Street, Douglas, Hopkins Lloyd Community School, Keefe Avenue, and Siefert — as potential closure candidates; the presentation considered enrollment, building age, and the viability of surrounding schools, according to WISN-TV. District officials have noted that the consultant's list served as one input for discussion rather than a final decision.
Cassellius has previously said that major structural changes, including actual closures and mergers, will not take effect until the 2027-28 school year, even though grade-configuration shifts begin this school year, according to CBS 58. The district's timeline separates grade-configuration shifts from closures and mergers. Still, after Monday's meeting, Cassellius said closures and mergers could still be decided this year, and more conversations are needed.
MPS Facilities
MPS has also undertaken lead abatement efforts amid budget strain, as Hoodline previously reported.
Local education advocacy group City Forward Collective argued in a policy brief that MPS has at least 25 excess buildings, with enrollment declining from 78,000 to 55,000, and urged district leaders to close underused campuses, according to the Badger Institute. The group has said that maintaining half-empty buildings diverts funding away from classroom instruction and teacher pay.
Budget Deficit Adds Urgency
Financial pressures compound the enrollment problem. Auditors determined earlier this year that MPS overspent its budget by $46 million during the previous school year, adding fiscal urgency as the district also faces an estimated $30 million in proposed employee wage increases, the Badger Institute reported. That deficit follows the district's April 2024 referendum, when Milwaukee voters narrowly approved a $252 million annual operating measure by a 51% to 49% margin to offset a projected $200 million budget deficit, as reported by WUWM.
Cassellius is the superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools.
A Second Committee Weighs the Budget
Alongside the Great Schools Committee, MPS has also launched a separate Budget Advisory Committee to help shape the district's 2027-28 spending plan. Public input is planned from late September through October, with the full board set to make final decisions in late November.
The criteria that will determine which schools close remain unresolved after Monday's session, with parents calling for more answers.
