Dearest reader,
Step 2 of the Baldwin Community Schools ledger takes us from the dollars to the people behind them.
And this decade looks a little different.
From 2014-15 to 2024-25:
Pupils: DOWN 20.80%
Teachers: UP 9.56%
Total administrators: DOWN 25.29%
Total staff: UP 44.18%
Read that last one again.
Baldwin served about 112 fewer pupils, yet NCES reports total staffing increased from 85.34 FTE to 123.04 FTE, an increase of 37.70 FTE.
So where did the growth happen?
The Michigan REP data gives us a pretty good breadcrumb.
Student Support went from 5.50 FTE to 29.02 FTE.
That is an increase of 23.52 FTE, or 427.64%.
Other Support increased 48.84%.
Meanwhile, teachers increased modestly, instructional aides declined, and the NCES administrative cross-check actually shows total administrators decreasing.
That last part matters.
This isn't a ledger showing administrative ranks exploding while classrooms disappeared. The numbers point somewhere else: a substantial expansion of support staffing while enrollment declined.
And remember Step 1?
Inflation-adjusted Instructional Support spending was UP 203.76%.
Now we have a staffing number sitting beside that financial number.
That doesn't tell us why it happened.
It tells us where to look next.
And that, dearest reader, is exactly what we're going to do.
Sources:
Michigan Department of Education — REP Staffing Data, 2014-15 and 2024-25
National Center for Education Statistics — Common Core of Data (CCD), 2014-15 and 2024-25
Michigan Department of Education — Bulletin 1014, 2014-15 and 2024-25
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