New figures from DPI reveal K-12 public school enrollment dropped below 800,000 for the first time in several decades.
New enrollment data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) shows that total K-12 enrollment in the state’s public schools dropped below 800,000 for the first time in decades. Just 791,794 students are currently enrolled in public schools, a decline of more than 83,000 since 2006.
Public school enrollment stood at 875,543 in 2006, remained relatively stable through the mid-2010s, then accelerated downward post-pandemic amid falling birth rates, other demographic shifts, and increased enrollment in private schools.
This new data echoes that found in the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) Foundation’s most recent Wisconsin Competitiveness Report. According to WMC, public school enrollment has fallen by approximately 65,000 students since 2000. Teaching positions simultaneously declined, but WMC found that non-teaching staff actually increased by more than 8,000 positions.
For every eight students lost, districts hired one additional non-instructional employee. Over the same period, per-pupil spending has more than doubled, yet the growth in non-teaching roles—including administrators—has outpaced any reductions in teaching staff.
DPI’s new data release comes amid heightened scrutiny of its funding from state lawmakers, who have withheld funds over DPI’s controversial water park retreat in June 2024 at which educational leaders unilaterally changed state testing standards without sufficient public or legislative oversight.
