ROCKFORD: STEP 2 THE STAFFING LEDGER
Dearest readers... Step 1 left your Lady a few breadcrumbs.
Step 2 just added a few more. 🪶
Over the last decade, Rockford Public Schools lost 5.6% of its pupils.
But staffing?
That went in several very different directions.
From 2014–15 → 2024–25:
📉 Pupils: −5.6%
🍎 Teachers: +9.7%
📚 Instructional aides: +31.2%
🪶 Instructional support: +32.5%
👥 Other support: +98.3%
And overall?
Total staff increased 31.7% — from 956.05 to 1,258.89 FTE — while pupil count declined.
But here's where the administrative ledger gets interesting. 👀
Total administrative FTE actually DECREASED 4.6%.
That's important, and we're not going to hide a receipt simply because another number is more interesting.
But underneath that total, administration shifted considerably:
🏛� District/central administration:
10.50 → 15.00 FTE
UP 42.9%
🏫 School/building administration:
27.36 → 21.10 FTE
DOWN 22.9%
In other words, Rockford didn't simply "add administrators."
It had slightly fewer administrators overall.
What changed was where those administrators were located in the staffing structure: fewer at the school/building level and more at the district/central level.
And then there's that rather large Other Support column:
244.51 → 484.83 FTE.
Nearly double.
Does that mean something improper happened?
No.
It means your Lady has another rather large number circled in the ledger and a very simple question beside it:
What changed? 🪶
Because a percentage tells us where to look.
The receipts tell us why.
With receipts & respect. 👑
#LadyBudgetdown #RockfordPublicSchools #Rockford #KentCounty #MichiganSchools #SchoolStaffing #Teachers #SchoolAdministration #PublicSchools #Transparency #Accountability #FollowTheMoney #FollowTheNumbers #TheReceipts #WithReceiptsAndRespect