📜 THE HAZEL PARK LEDGER IS OPEN.
Ten years. Nearly one-quarter of the students gone. And a very different financial picture.
From 2014–15 to 2024–25, Hazel Park Schools' average pupil count fell from 3,855 to 2,909.92, a decline of 945.08 pupils, or 24.5%.
Meanwhile:
💰 All-sources funding per pupil:
$10,741 → $19,868
+$9,127 | +85.0%
📚 Instruction per pupil:
$6,794 → $11,410
+$4,616 | +67.9%
📖 Instructional support per pupil:
$1,152 → $2,727
+$1,575 | +136.7%
🏛� Business & administration per pupil:
$1,048 → $2,435
+$1,387 | +132.3%
🔧 Operations & maintenance per pupil:
$1,220 → $1,840
+$620 | +50.8%
And then there's this:
👩�🏫 Average teacher salary:
$56,745 → $76,693
+$19,948 | +35.2%
Cumulative inflation over the same period was approximately 35.83%.
So while average teacher salary essentially tracked inflation, instructional support spending per pupil increased 136.7%, business and administration increased 132.3%, and overall funding per pupil increased 85.0%.
That doesn't automatically tell us whether the spending was good or bad. It does tell us where to start asking questions.
Because when enrollment falls 24.5% while funding per pupil rises 85.0%, the ledger deserves a closer look.
And that is precisely what Lady Budgetdown intends to do. 🪶
With receipts and respect.
#LadyBudgetdown #HazelParkSchools #SchoolTransparency #EducationSpending #FollowTheMoney #PublicSchools #WithReceiptsAndRespect