📜 THE NOVI LEDGER CHART #3
Darling, now that we've looked at enrollment and staffing, it's time to follow the dollars.
And this is exactly why inflation matters.
According to Michigan's Bulletin 1014 data, Novi Community School District's General Fund expenditures per pupil were:
2021: $12,911
2022: $13,366
2023: $14,552
2024: $15,501
2025: $15,408
From 2021 to 2025, that's an increase of $2,497 per pupil, or 19.3%.
At first glance, 19.3% sounds substantial.
But Lady Budgetdown doesn't stop at the first number. 🪶
Over that same comparison period, cumulative inflation was approximately 18.7%.
If Novi's $12,911 in 2021 spending had simply kept pace with inflation, it would equal approximately $15,325 per pupil in 2025.
Novi actually spent $15,408.
That's approximately $83 per pupil above the inflation-equivalent amount, leaving an inflation-adjusted increase of only about 0.5%.
There's another detail worth noticing: per-pupil spending reached $15,501 in 2024 before declining slightly to $15,408 in 2025.
So what does Chart #3 tell us?
It tells us that while Novi's General Fund spending per pupil increased 19.3% in nominal dollars, almost all of that increase was accounted for by inflation.
That doesn't tell us where the dollars went.
For that, we'll open the next page of the ledger. 👑
Source: Michigan Department of Education, Bulletin 1014, Novi Community School District (63100), AVG TOTEXP; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual-average rates.
With receipts and respect.
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