Milwaukee Board Of School Directors

Milwaukee Board Of School Directors, operating as Milwaukee Public Schools, is a U.S. local government school district serving approximately 69,000 students across 158 schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The organization receives federal funding exclusively as a grant recipient (43% prime grants, 57% sub-awards), with no federal contracting activity. Milwaukee Public Schools operates one named subsidiary, Carmen High School Of Science And Technology, Inc., a non-profit organization.

The district's federal grant footprint spans education, environmental, and community development domains. On the education side, Milwaukee Public Schools receives formula grants and project grants from the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) for Title I basic grants to LEAs (CFDA 84.010), Indian Education Formula Grants to LEAs (CFDA 84.299), special education under IDEA Part B (CFDA 84.064), Title II-A teacher training (CFDA 84.367A), Title III-A English language acquisition (CFDA 84.365A), Title IV-A student support and enrichment (CFDA 84.424A), and Title IV-B 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CFDA 84.287C). Competitive project grants from OESE include the School Safety National Activities program (CFDA 84.184) for the $3.75 million Milwaukee School-Based Mental Health Collaborative (awarded January 1, 2026), the $3.28 million GEAR UP program (CFDA 84.334) from the Office of Postsecondary Education for college readiness support (awarded October 1, 2025), and the Indian Education—Special Programs for Indian Children (CFDA 84.299) supporting the $1 million First Nations College Access program through September 30, 2027.

Nutrition program funding flows through the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service for the National School Lunch Program (CFDA 10.555), the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CFDA 10.558), and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (CFDA 10.582). The district also receives sub-awards from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for formula-driven Title I, IDEA, and nutrition programs.

Beyond education, Milwaukee Public Schools is the prime recipient of a $20.843 million Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 project grant under the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Program (CFDA 66.049) to replace 50 internal combustion engine Class 7 school buses with zero-emission vehicles, fund charging infrastructure, and provide workforce development and community engagement through December 31, 2027. The district received a $300 thousand Department of Agriculture Forest Service Cooperative Forestry Assistance grant (CFDA 10.664) for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative restoring Milwaukee's urban watersheds through August 3, 2027, and a $600 thousand EPA Region 5 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant (CFDA 66.469) for green infrastructure at five schoolyards. Mental health and violence prevention work includes a Bureau of Justice Assistance project grant for Project STEPS addressing racial equity and violence prevention (awarded October 1, 2024, completion September 30, 2027), a SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services $2.5 million project grant for Resilience in School Environments (RISE) running through September 29, 2026, and an Office of Refugee Resettlement cooperative agreement supporting human trafficking prevention education through September 29, 2028. The district also holds community development grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Economic Development Initiative/Community Project Funding (awarded August 13, 2024, extending through August 31, 2032), a Federal Communications Commission Affordable Connectivity Outreach grant (awarded July 13, 2023), and a Marquette University sub-award for computer science teacher professional development. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources sub-awards fund stormwater management construction at Walt Whitman, Samuel Clemens, and Humboldt Park schools.

Customer concentration is heavily weighted toward education funders. The top five funding agencies account for 68% of recent awards, anchored by the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (73 awards) and the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (45 awards), with the Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (16 awards), the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (9 awards), and EPA Region 5 (7 awards) rounding out the set. Award volume has accelerated sharply—from 8 awards in 2022 to 51 in 2024 and 52 in 2025—reflecting the district's expanded federal grant development capacity. Five awards carry completion dates within the next twenty-four months, representing recompete or renewal opportunity for the district.