Worcester schools budget proposal: $586 million, no layoffs planned, uncertainty remains
WORCESTER ― The proposed Worcester Public Schools budget for the next school year is set at $586 million, an increase of $33.8 million, or 6.1% over last year.
The district announced earlier this month that the proposed budget would be within striking distance of $600 million and the budget is undergoing a series of public hearings before it will ultimately be voted on by the School Committee.
Unlike last year, which saw the district cut nearly 200 positions due to budget shortfalls, no layoffs are anticipated under the current proposed budget. However, in a press release the district has noted that a few outstanding items remain beyond the city's control, such as actions by the federal government, which controls 9% of the district's proposed budget, and state funding.
More: Impact of school budget cuts: 86 classroom teachers, 70 support staff, 22 administrators
"No layoffs are planned due to the budget next year. However, Worcester Public Schools continues to monitor actions by the federal government, which provides 9% of the district budget. Additionally, the state Legislature may make adjustments to the final amount that Worcester Public Schools receives," the district stated.
From the proposed budget, $142 million will come from the city, while $381 million comes from the state, with the remaining funding coming from federal grants and other minor revenue sources.
Superintendent Rachel Monárrez stated that the district is proud to be past the difficult cutting process and that resources can be used to help the highest-need students in the district.
"I am grateful we can begin to move our resource allocation in the right direction to support our scholars, especially our highest-need students, even if we are doing so incrementally,' Monárrez said. 'While factors such as inflation reimbursement and health benefits pose a challenge, we are building upon a strong foundation to ensure funding is used in the most effective manner possible, now and in the future.'
The proposed budget would be the first in which the district uses what it calls its equity-based budgeting practice, a formula developed by Monárrez and Deputy Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer Brian Allen that is intended to better allocate resources to schools and students that have been historically underserved.
Allen, who will take over as superintendent in July, said the budget has been constructed with the intent of putting educators at the forefront.
"This budget prioritizes classroom investments including common planning time and textbook and technology purchases, despite ongoing challenges," Allen stated. "Through it all, we are putting educator voice at the forefront and ensuring our budget is rooted in the district's 'Vision of a Learner' and strategic plan priorities."
Part of the budget will add eight additional climate and culture coordinators in Worcester secondary schools, new positions that were created last year to help improve student behavior and encourage better outcomes for students struggling in school.
More: Climate and culture team aims for reform at Worcester East Middle School
Other aspects of the budget include funding to replace approximately 6,000 Chromebooks, which are given out to students across the district, the use of "late" buses at all middle and high schools to help transport students who have after-school activities, and to maintain current staffing ratios of 21 students per teacher across the district.
The School Committee held public meetings on the budget May 19 and 27, and will hold additional meetings on June 5 and 18.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester Public Schools proposed budget set at $586 million
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He also has support from former Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Linda Honold and several local party chairs including Kelly Gallaher of the Racine County party, Nancy Fisker of the Lafayette County party and Matthew Mareno of the Waukesha County party. Some advocates have also given their support including Angela Lang, the executive director of Black Leaders Organizing Communities (BLOC), Shawn Phetteplace, an organizer and campaign strategist with small business advocacy organization Main Street Alliance and Kristin Lyerly, a Green Bay OB-GYN who advocates for reproductive rights and ran for Congress in 2024. Zepecki appeared critical of Wikler for his endorsement of Remiker in a video posted to Facebook in May, saying the current chair had assured him he wouldn't make an endorsement and that he 'abandoned' that commitment. He declined to speak further on the issue in the Examiner interview. 'I thought that was vitally important because it is the members of our party — the folks who knock the doors and plant the signs and make the phone calls — who should decide this election and know that their voice is paramount in this process,' Zepecki said in the video. 'If you don't change the people who are at the top are, I don't believe we're going to see the changes and improvements we need to see,' Zepcki added. 'We need new leadership and a fresh perspective. That's what I'm offering.' Since 2016, Zepecki has run a communications company and worked for organizations such as Protect Our Care Wisconsin. Prior to that, he also worked on federal and state campaigns including Democrat Mary Burke's 2014 run for governor, a U.S. Senate campaign in Nebraska and a presidential primary campaign in Nevada. Zepecki said he wants to build better infrastructure for the party's communications and has been saying there are 'five Ms' that should guide the work: message, messenger, mood, medium and masses. 'Spoiler alert: there is no magic set of words in just the right order that unlocks your vote… You're better off having a young person communicate with a young person, better off having someone who's a union member communicate with a union member. We need more messengers…,' Zepecki said. 'We can't just assume that our elected officials are going to be the only ones communicating our values, and when those messengers are out there, I think they need to match the mood of the country… It is virtually impossible to get ahead, and people are pissed about that. When we do not match the mood of the electorate, people tune us out. There are more ways to reach people than ever before, and we need to be more intentional about using more of that.' Zepecki said this approach will help the party, which he said has troubles communicating what it's for and against. When it comes to what Democrats are for, Zepecki said that communicating the party as one of 'economic opportunity and fairness' is essential. 'Whether they're building trades union members and apprentices, whether it's public sector workers, the Democratic Party is the party of working people. When we get back to communicating that every single day, I think people are going to respond favorably,' Zepecki said, adding that this 'doesn't mean that we don't stand up for our trans brothers and sisters. It does not mean that we do not protect civil rights.' Zepecki said with the 'big, pivotal year' of 2026 upcoming, he would want to use the latter half of the year to build up the party's power and infrastructure to be prepared to win. He said the approach would vary region to region but it comes down to communicating that people are welcome in the party and it will work for them. 'It is required that we ask for and earn the support of people who have voted Republican in the past, and we do so without making them swear out a blood oath to be Democrats for the rest of their life. That is the way you win elections in a 50-50 state like Wisconsin,' Zepecki said. 'We share many of the frustrations that people who vote for Donald Trump and Republicans have when it comes to how our economy is working. We do a better job communicating that we welcome folks into our party, don't like the chaos, division and the overreach of what the Trump administration is doing, and we're going to be just fine next year.' Zepecki said his time serving as a political appointee in the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) in the Obama administration is the role that has prepared him the most for serving as chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He said he was tasked with leading a team of civil servants across 68 districts, and he compared it to Wisconsin's 72 counties. 'There are different realities and challenges and context depending on where you are…You have to earn trust. You have to win trust, and you have to lead and communicate internally as well as you communicate externally,' Zepecki said. 'When you do that, I think you can improve organizations. We certainly did that at SBA — incredibly, incredibly proud of the two and a half years I spent there — and that's the type of approach that I would bring to this.' The basis of Garcia's campaign is strengthening the state's county parties. He told the Examiner that he has seen first-hand the 'dangerous disconnect between the state party and county parties' that exists. Garcia, who is originally from San Antonio, Texas, said he grew up 'very, very political,' having helped Democrats since he was a teenager. He and his wife moved to La Crosse about seven years ago after she secured a job at the UW branch campus and when they arrived he said he almost immediately looked to get involved at the local level. He is also an educator currently working as an instructor at Western Technical College and having worked in K-12 education for 17 years prior. ''Hey, I live here now. How can I help?'' Garcia said, he asked when he walked in the La Crosse County party office. 'I started working from there.' Over the last several years, Garcia said the party has grown strong and robust. 'We get a lot of work done,' Garcia said, noting that La Crosse recently elected its most progressive mayor and city council ever, and just overturned the 96th state Assembly seat, which had been represented by Republicans for about 70 years. 'We were able to flip that through hard work,' Garcia said, adding that new fairer maps helped also. 'That was because of the strong infrastructure that we built at the county,' Garcia said. 'What I want to do is replicate that all across the state.' Garcia has support from Democrats in his local area, including Rep. Tara Johnson (D-Town of Shelby) of the 96th district, Rep. Jill Billings (D-La Crosse), La Crosse Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey, as well as the chair of the Jackson and Richland County parties and John Stanley, who serves as the progressive caucus chair. Garcia said some of the changes the party needs to make may appear small but are important for helping the party reach as many people as possible. 'Logistical things like packets with turf maps that make sense…,' Garcia said. 'If you actually live in the area, you know, there are problems with how it's put together, and it slows down our door knockers. Things like we're not doing enough talking to our rural voters, and we're not doing enough to talk to our farmers.' As chair, Garcia said he would want to ensure that county parties have the resources, tools, training and infrastructure so that they can spend all their time reaching out to voters. He said that he also wants to ensure that county parties have a bigger seat at the table when it comes to organizing and messaging decision making. 'County parties are the experts in what is happening in their own communities, and we need to be listening to them in ways that we're not right now about the best way to really reach out and talk to voters in those areas,' Garcia said. 'The organizing strategy that works in Madison is not the organizing strategy that works best in Pierce County, and the messaging that works wonderfully in Milwaukee is not necessarily the strategy that's going to work best in Menominee.' Garcia added that this would apply to other local organizing organizations, including the state party caucuses such as the Latino, Black and rural caucuses. Garcia said strengthening the county parties is essential towards winning the trifecta in 2026. 'It's the county parties that are really the hub of activity for electing our Assembly candidates and our state Senate candidates. It is the county parties where we find our door knocking volunteers. It's the county party where we find the infrastructure the candidates need to tap into in order to mount an effective campaign, and so the stronger we can make these county parties, the more likely we are to flip those Assembly and Senate seats that we need to flip.' Garcia said it is also important to get to the areas where it's difficult to win as well. 'Even if an Assembly seat goes 65% for Republicans and is a very difficult win for a Democrat, we still desperately need those votes for our statewide office holders.' Garcia said that people don't get elected by being against something so Democrats needs to be proactive, illustrating what they are doing for people, their vision for government and, specifically, honing in on a message of 'protecting Wisconsin families.' 'That's what Democrats are trying to do from child care, where we're trying to make it actually affordable to pay for child care, trying to expand Medicaid so that pregnant women have the care that they need to take care of their babies, all the way up to protecting Medicare and Social Security,' Garcia said. 'It is Democrats that are consistently passing laws — or preventing Republicans from passing laws — to help our people.' 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