MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Declining enrollment has been an issue facing Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) for decades. However, the challenge has never been more dire as now, for the first time, less than half the city's kids are attending a traditional MPS school.

Alan Borsuk, a senior researcher at Marquette University, first reported the finding this week after an analysis of statewide enrollment. 

On Thursday, MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius discussed the challenge with reporters following her "State of the Schools" address, which she gave at Discovery World.

"If you are able to stabilize your staffing, I believe that will create great schools," Cassellius said in response to a question about enrollment trends. "And great schools will then be able to grow our enrollment."

Going back only six years to the 2020-21 school year, MPS reported an enrollment of 62,595. This year, MPS' enrollment is down to 53,922 -- a 14% drop over that six-year period.

More than a third of that decline happened over the past year, as MPS reported a 5.8% enrollment decline from the 2025-26 school year.

Cassellius said her time overseeing public schools for the state of Minnesota established that the districts doing the best job of attracting and keeping kids in their schools were doing two things right.

"The first was they had very experienced teachers at those schools," she said. "The second was that they felt like a family, and it didn't matter which school I went to; they told me they felt like a family."

To start turning around those enrollment trends, Cassellius said MPS will look at ways it can expand and offer new programs for the city's youngest children.

"You're gonna hear me start talking more and more about birth to age 3 so that we can support families," she said.

MPS' enrollment challenges are directly tied to the district's need to close or merge some of its schools. Cassellius has previously pushed back the timeline for when the district will finalize the list of schools closing and merging.

She told reporters Friday the district is getting closer to presenting its list of proposed closures and mergers. From there, the district will accept public comment for about a month before making its ultimate decision.

"It's a community conversation that we're having," Cassellius said. "And I'm starting to feel like we're making some progress there. It may take a little longer than what we had liked, but we want to get it right."

MPS asked voters for $252 million in a 2024 referendum voters narrowly approved. Those dollars were spread over a four-year period. Cassellius said whether K-12 schools get additional state funding will largely determine whether MPS goes back to referendum in the next couple years.

She added she was hopeful a newly elected Democrat trifecta in state government will lead to increased state aid for schools, particularly in the special education reimbursement rate.

"I'm gonna wait and see what happens with the Legislature," Cassellius said. "I'm hoping they'll fix special ed, as I mentioned in my speech, and provide additional state aid. 25 They're sitting on a surplus, and I haven't been shy about saying I think that surplus should go to the next generation of Milwaukee students."