As students return, MPS makes last-minute reassignments to fill teacher vacancies

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- As students returned for a new school year, leaders at Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) grappled with a familiar problem. There was a shortage of full-time classroom teachers.

To fill some of those vacancies, Superintendent Brenda Cassellius confirmed Tuesday the district notified several educators on Friday they were being reassigned from roving positions based at MPS' central office to full-time roles in a single classroom.

Cassellius said the district has moved nearly 100 specialists back into full-time classroom positions, going back to an announcement last spring MPS planned to reassign more educators who were based at central office. 

"That is true. I have made it a priority that we will fill every single vacancy," Cassellius said. "Our HR department has worked really hard to fill all vacancies. We have about 98 classroom vacancies still, so we took licensed staff and were able to get them into classrooms, so kiddos had a classroom teacher in front of them."

Cassellius confirmed the last-minute changes at a back-to-school rally the district held at Browning Elementary School. Gov. Tony Evers and State Superintendent Jill Underly joined Cassellius in greeting students. A district spokesperson said in an email late Tuesday afternoon a total of 42 educators have been relocated from central office to dedicated school assignments.

When asked about teaching vacancies statewide, Evers said he believed Wisconsin was making progress. The governor suggested the state could do more to highlight districts that have done a good job of recruiting and keeping teachers.

"We've gotta start talking about all of the successes that we've had. I think that would be a helpful thing," Evers said. "But at the end of the day, we're doing everything we can. Our universities are still having pretty good numbers."

Earlier this year, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released an analysis of its 2023 workforce figures. It found the biggest issues facing school districts were not recruiting new teachers, but rather, retaining them.

The DPI report found only 55.6% of first-year teachers were still in public school districts by their seventh years in the education field. Only 41.9% of first-year teachers were still in the same district by their seventh year.

CBS 58 contacted the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association to ask about the Friday reassignments, but a union spokesperson said leaders were unavailable for an interview and did not provide a statement in response to the changes.

Evers responds to Minnesota shooting

Evers also commented on the mass shooting last week at Annunciation Christian School in Minneapolis. A shooter killed two children, ages 8 and 10, after firing into the windows of a church.

Evers called for leaders to find more solutions in the areas of gun laws and mental health in order to prevent more tragedies. 

The governor also referred to a school shooting Wisconsin experienced within the past year. A shooter killed two people and wounded six others at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison last December.

"Yeah, it's a disaster, what happened in Minnesota, and we have to do more than just pray and send good wishes to people," Evers said. "We have to think about what we're doing with guns, what we're doing with mental health, and it has to be - everybody has to be behind this effort. We can't afford to do this every couple weeks or every couple months."

Latest on school flood damage

Cassellius told reporters seven schools were still dealing with the effects of last month's historic flooding. The superintendent said workers were monitoring for asbestos after water lifted some of the tiling in the schools.

She said the damage was limited to bathrooms, a closet and a small number of classrooms. Cassellius added affected students and teachers were able to move to other rooms within the building.

"Nobody is being relocated in terms of a whole school," she said.

Cassellius said Riverside University High School was set to reopen for its first day of classes on Wednesday. School there was cancelled Tuesday after someone dropped a thermometer, causing mercury to spill. Riverside is one of two MPS schools Cassellius identified as having sustained severe flood damage.