Dearest reader,
A reader sent me a breadcrumb about Fraser Public Schools, specifically concerns about large elementary class sizes.
Before I go chasing individual classrooms, I start where I always start: the ledger.
So here is Step 1 for Fraser Public Schools, comparing 2014–15 with 2024–25 using Michigan Department of Education Bulletin 1014 data.
Over that decade:
Fraser's average pupil count fell from 5,386 to 4,388.34.
That is a loss of 997.66 pupils, or 18.52%.
At the same time:
• All-sources revenue per pupil increased from $9,907 to $15,734 — up $5,827, or 58.82%.
• Total instruction per pupil increased from $6,042 to $8,971 — up $2,929, or 48.48%.
• Instructional support per pupil increased from $1,065 to $2,559 — up $1,494, or 140.28%.
• Business & administration per pupil increased from $1,144 to $1,601 — up $457, or 39.95%.
• Operations & maintenance per pupil increased from $872 to $1,631 — up $759, or 87.04%.
And then there is this:
Average teacher salary went from $66,194 to $63,708.
That is a nominal decrease of $2,486, or 3.76%, during a period when cumulative CPI inflation was approximately 35.83%.
That does not tell me that Fraser is doing anything wrong.
It does not tell me whether a particular sixth-grade classroom has 30 students.
And it certainly does not tell me that one spending category is automatically "good" or "bad."
But it does give me a very clear reason to keep digging.
Because when enrollment falls nearly 19%, per-pupil revenue rises nearly 59%, instructional support rises more than 140%, and average teacher salary actually declines, my next question is fairly simple:
What happened to the staffing?
That is Step 2.
I'll be pulling teacher FTE, aides, support staff, school administration, central administration and total staffing next.
Then we can start asking whether the numbers help explain what parents are seeing in the classroom.
The ledger first.
The conclusions later.
With receipts and respect.
Sources: Michigan Department of Education Bulletin 1014, 2014–15 and 2024–25. CPI-U inflation benchmark: 35.83%.