'Serious mess:' Teachers, parents concerned over how MPS will solve $30M shortfall

MILWAUKEE -- One of the highly-anticipated meetings of Milwaukee Public Schools' Board of School Directors -- to work out possible budget cuts -- never quite got off the ground. An overflow crowd was so large on Tuesday night, April 10, the second MPS meeting dedicated to budget planning never started.

"They're in a pretty serious mess," said Alan Borsuk, senior fellow at Marquette University Law School.

Still, teachers and parents voiced their concerns over the next school year's glaring budget deficit -- a nearly $30 million shortfall.

"The bigger picture, which worries me, is how unhappy the workforce is. This is a really unhappy group of teachers," Borsuk said.

Potential budget cuts impacting teachers include a controversial idea to establish near-site health clinics, saving $700,000 a year.

Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association (MTEA) Vice President Amy Mizialko issued the following statement:

Some would argue that already declining enrollment could get worse if student resources, like transportation, are slashed.

"The more you cut busing, and this is where it could become self-defeating for them, the more you give people some encouragement to go elsewhere," Borsuk said.

The contentious discussion is offering only a glimpse of what is to come.

"They will come up with a budget. The real question is what comes after that?" Borsuk said.

The Strategic Planning and Budget meeting that was supposed to take place Tuesday was postponed until next week. A final budget proposal is slated to be presented to the school board in early May.