Teachers voice concern, hint at strike over MPS proposed budget

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee Teachers' Association is asking teachers how far they're willing to go for their students.

They're angry over a $38 billion budget shortfall. One possible fix calls for 5% cuts across the board. Another would limit employee healthcare benefits.

The union says they can't afford to lose any more resources. They took their message to the top on Thursday. The MTEA did give more indication of what their action meant, naming five states across the nation that are currently striking.

They say they can't comment, however, on whether they're considering a strike.

"Last night MTEA's Executive Board met to consider this proposed MPS budget. Our board voted to authorize the MTEA President to set a deadline for this school board to produce a fair and just budget this May," said Amy Mizialko with the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association.

The proposed budget is over 1,000 pages and the CFO of MPS went through a number of bullet points in the budget. A reminder, it's the proposed budget, Superintendent Darien Driver promised to take suggestions and comments made into consideration for the final.

Many of the teachers didn't agree with the budget on things such as class sizes, healthcare, the arts in schools. Roughly a dozen people in the audience spoke directly to the board.

If you'd like to read more on the $1.2 billion budget released last week, click here.