Madison parents, teachers upset over district staffing changes

Madison Metropolitan School District parents and teachers are upset about staffing allocations in the district that will move teachers based on projected enrollment. 

At a school board meeting Monday, dozens of parents either spoke out or wrote letters opposing the district’s annual staff allocating process.

Many of the speakers were from Lapham Elementary School, which will lose a second grade teacher. That means the remaining two second grade classes will be at a maximum capacity of 27 students each.

Parent Calvin Fisher said the second grade teacher being cut in order to facilitate over crowding is beloved in the Madison community, and one of the few male teachers students have to look up to.

“Lapham is also losing one-third of its special ed teachers,” Fisher said. “These teachers support the children who most need extra support, and I can’t think of a polite way to say it, but you are failing these children by removing those supports.”

Parent frustration over the staff allocations come less than six months after Madison voters passed two school referendums — one raising $507 million to replace aging buildings and another raising $100 million for operations. 

Michael Jones, who heads Madison Teachers Inc., called the referendums a “bait and switch.” 

Many parents testified that the school board was not considering future growth in the district. 

Katie Winn is part of the Parent Teacher Group for Lapham Elementary School. She has one child in second grade at the school and another child who will be starting at the school next year. 

She says parents want transparency from the school board, especially after voters approved $607 million in school referendums in November. 

“Our concern is MMSD losing great teaching staff,” Winn said. “This is not a good experience for anyone, and especially students trying to learn with 27 kids in a single classroom.”

Edell Fiedler, a spokesperson for MMSD, said the staffing allocation process is done annually to ensure resources align with student enrollment and district priorities. 

District officials say no teachers are being fired as a result of the allocation process.

MMSD’s elementary and middle schools are up more than 200 students, and its high schools are projected to have 233 fewer students. 

One middle school alone is projected to have 131 more students next year, showing the need to adjust staffing levels in the building, according to the district.

The planned staffing allocations include:

• A net reduction of 11 full-time staff positions at the city’s high schools, with one teacher position being added.
• A net reduction of three full-time staff at elementary schools. There also will be a reduction in education assistants and increases in special education staff.
• A net increase of 20 full-time staff in the middle schools.

Compared to MMSD’s current allocation levels, the district anticipates an increase of 8.67 full-time equivalents in 2025–26, the district said in a statement released Tuesday. 

In addition, approximately 56 FTEs have been restored since the allocation process began on Feb. 14, the statement said.

“Transparency is important, and MMSD is committed to continuously evaluating and improving its staffing allocation process and enhancing communication with staff and the community,” Superintendent Joe Gothard said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Madison Teachers Inc., the MMSD teacher’s union has a scheduled walk out to show their support for students and public schools.