MPS: about 63,840 students reported in first week; attendance above 90%, transportation and staffing still stabilizing

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Board of School Directors— Family and Community Engagement Committee heard a first-week update on the 2025-26 school year from Superintendent Brenda Cassellius on Sept. 9, 2025. Cassellius reported that district enrollment was about 63,840 students and that daily attendance was near 91.6 percent.

The superintendent said the district set a budget assumption of about 66,000 students and that district staff were continuing outreach to families: "We are sitting at about 63,840 students. So we're closing that gap, each and every day," Cassellius said. She told the committee the district had about 1,200 fewer "no-shows" than in a previous comparison and that roughly 3,000 families still required outreach.

Cassellius framed attendance targets and chronic-absence thresholds for the committee. "Our goal is above 90% attendance, really, like to be targeted somewhere around 90 to 95% attendance every day for students," she said, adding the district flags students attending under 90 percent as chronically absent.

On staffing, Cassellius said about 98 percent of classrooms were staffed, with a net of roughly 100 vacancies at the time of the report. She noted a new chief human-resources official had started the prior day and central-office staff had been assigned temporarily to classrooms while the district recruits permanent hires.

Transportation remained an area of active attention. Cassellius said on-time bus performance was about 85 percent and that the district expected routing to improve as new students and routes were added. "I think we had 300 more students on the bus this week," she said, and predicted on-time service should rise toward the low- to mid-90s over the coming weeks.

Meals and nutrition data presented at the meeting showed about 18,000 breakfasts and 38,000 other meals served through the Sept. 8 reporting window. Director Vannoy said she was surprised by the uptake rate and asked for a later briefing on free- and reduced-price meal participation; the superintendent agreed to return with more detail.

Cassellius also updated the committee on facilities and lead remediation. She said all 50 pre-1950 schools in the district had been cleared and that the district planned to clear another roughly 50 schools by December, then address further painting and cosmetic work into the following spring. She noted a $16,000,000 budget allocation to strengthen the facilities team and support maintenance work tied to lead-reduction efforts.

The superintendent described safety incident counts as low: "We have 156 schools. We have over 60,000 students, and we're looking at our safety incidents being less than 3 at this point," she said, while adding staff continue to support students after incidents occur.

Committee members asked for follow-up briefings on specific operational matters. Director Simpson requested more detail on transportation staffing and the protocol families should use when a route is late; Cassellius said the administration would return with information and suggested the issue could also be discussed at the district's SASSI committee. Director Vannoy asked for additional information on meal-service participation and free/reduced eligibility.

No formal action or vote was taken on the item; the presentation was an informational update and the committee opened the floor to questions and public comment afterward.