🪶 Lady Budgetdown's Society Papers 🩷
Dearest Readers,
Some insist our schools are desperately underfunded.
The receipts tell a more detailed story.
Over the past decade, Pontiac City School District's enrollment declined by 14.6%.
Yet...
💰 Total funding from all sources increased from $71.7 million to $120.0 million.
Even after accounting for inflation...
✅ Funding increased 26.5% in real dollars.
But that's only the beginning.
📚 Instruction increased 6.9% after inflation.
🎓 Instructional Support increased 31.5% after inflation.
🏛� Business & Administration increased 44.4% after inflation—the largest increase of any spending category analyzed.
🛠� Operations & Maintenance increased 8.2% after inflation.
👩�🏫 Average teacher salaries increased 18.7% after inflation.
Meanwhile...
👨�🎓 There were nearly 643 fewer students to educate.
These numbers don't tell us whether every dollar was spent wisely.
They don't tell us whether every program was successful.
They don't tell us whether taxpayers should vote yes or no on any future proposal.
But they do answer one important question:
The conversation is far more complicated than simply saying schools received "no new money."
Facts matter.
Context matters.
And most importantly...
Receipts matter.
👑 Lady Budgetdown doesn't deal in rumors.
She deals in publicly available financial records.
The Society may debate.
The numbers do not.
Source: Michigan Department of Education, Bulletin 1014 (2014-15 & 2024-25).
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