THE LEDGER OPENS: LAMPHERE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Dear Readers,
Lady Budgetdown continues her journey through Michigan school finances.
Today's stop: Lamphere Public Schools (63280).
And this ten-year ledger contains a few numbers worth a closer look.
From 2014–15 to 2024–25, Lamphere's pupil count declined:
🎓 Pupil FTE
2,746 → 2,425.82
−320.18 | −11.7%
During that same period:
💰 Total funding per pupil
$11,046 → $18,997
+$7,951 | +72.0%
📚 Total instruction per pupil
$7,384 → $10,769
+$3,385 | +45.8%
📝 Instructional support per pupil
$1,092 → $3,150
+$2,058 | +188.5%
🏛� Business & administration per pupil
$1,398 → $1,863
+$465 | +33.3%
🔧 Operations & maintenance per pupil
$1,107 → $1,979
+$872 | +78.8%
🍎 Average teacher salary
$68,495 → $77,939
+$9,444 | +13.8%
For context, cumulative inflation over the comparison period was approximately 35.83%.
And that adds another layer to the ledger.
Total funding per pupil increased 72.0%.
Operations and maintenance increased 78.8%.
Instructional support increased a rather striking 188.5%.
Meanwhile, average teacher salary increased 13.8% — approximately 22 percentage points below inflation.
And all of this occurred while pupil FTE declined 11.7%.
That does not, by itself, tell us whether any particular expenditure was necessary, unnecessary, wise or unwise.
But it does tell us something important:
Budgets change. Enrollment changes. Priorities change.
And looking at those changes side by side gives the public considerably more context than looking at any one number alone.
Lady Budgetdown does not tell readers what to think.
She simply opens the ledger and lets the numbers speak.
📜 Source: Michigan Department of Education financial data, 2014–15 and 2024–25. Inflation comparison uses cumulative CPI-U through the end of 2025.
Data compiled and visualized by Lady Budgetdown using publicly available records.
With receipts and respect.
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