SAGINAW PUBLIC SCHOOLS: CAN SOMEONE HELP ME FINISH THIS LEDGER?
A rather interesting breadcrumb landed in my inbox concerning elementary math materials at Saginaw Public Schools.
The question is fairly simple:
Are elementary teachers being asked to teach the district's math curriculum without the accompanying student workbooks because the district did not purchase them for this school year? Are they being told that they need to purchase these materials out of their own pockets? Materials that are required per the district.
Before putting the question out there, I pulled what receipts I could find.
Saginaw Public Schools identifies Eureka Math / Great Minds among its elementary math curriculum resources. On February 9, 2026, SPSD issued a payment to Great Minds for $18,534.32.
But here is an important distinction about Eureka Math:
The printed student materials can be consumables.
These aren't necessarily textbooks a district buys once and puts back on the shelf for the next class. Great Minds' elementary program includes student Learn and Practice materials that students actually write in.
That means purchasing the curriculum doesn't necessarily eliminate the need to purchase new student materials in subsequent years.
Which makes that $18,534.32 Great Minds invoice particularly interesting. What did SPSD actually buy? Licenses? Teacher materials? Student books? Professional development? Something else?
I haven't been able to establish that from the public records I've found.
There is another piece of the puzzle.
SPSD presented its 2026–27 Consolidated Application/Grant Funds budget to the Board in August. The district therefore has state and federal grant funding allocated across various programs and purposes for this school year.
That does not automatically mean those dollars could legally be spent on these particular workbooks. Different grants have different allowable uses.
But it does leave a fair question:
What funding sources were available for elementary instructional materials, were replacement consumable Eureka materials budgeted for 2026–27, and if not, why not?
And that is where I am missing some pages from the ledger.
If you have documentation that helps answer this, a purchase order, Great Minds invoice, requisition, curriculum-material list, district communication, grant expenditure detail, or another verifiable record, send it my way.
Please don't send me names or identify individual teachers. I don't need them. I just want the receipts.
Because if the workbooks were purchased, wonderful. That answers the question.
But if teachers are actually being expected to teach a district-selected curriculum without the consumable student materials designed to accompany it because there wasn't funding to purchase them...
Well.
That is a question worth asking. 📚
— Lady Budgetdown
With receipts and respect.
Saginaw Public Schools
#LadyBudgetdown #SaginawPublicSchools #FollowTheMoney #ShowMeTheReceipts #EducationFunding #SchoolTransparency #FinishTheLedger