Milwaukee Public Schools Deficit Grows to About $58 Million as Fall Enrollment Comes In 2,544 Students Below Plan
In Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee Public Schools dug a deeper deficit over the last school year, running its main operations fund to about $58 million in the red despite budget cuts, according to preliminary figures reported November 2. The numbers still await final auditing.
Superintendent Brenda Cassellius cut about 80 teaching positions in October. After taking over in March 2025, she found the district had run about $46 million into the red during the 2024-25 school year and imposed midyear cuts the following February; last school year's overspending was smaller than the year before but still came to about $12.3 million, bringing the total hole to about $58.3 million. She said the problem stems from years of under-budgeting and overspending that gradually ate the district's savings. Under an updated budget approved October 29, the district projects it can narrow the deficit to about $23 million by the end of this school year.
Fall enrollment came in lower than expected at 57,733 students, 2,544 fewer than the budget plan; thanks to a state exemption that temporarily protects districts from sudden enrollment losses, the district's allowable revenue for this school year is actually about $12.9 million higher than the spring projection. District officials adjusted the current-year budget on October 29, slightly increasing the tax levy, and the budget pressure remains unresolved.
(Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：密尔沃基公立学校行政大楼。Michael Barera 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Milwaukee Public Schools administration building. By Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
