LADY BUDGETDOWN: FREELAND COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT: THE 10-YEAR LEDGER
Lady Budgetdown has arrived in Freeland Community School District (73200).
And as always, we're starting with the same question:
What changed over ten years?
Using Michigan Department of Education financial data, we compared 2014–15 to 2024–25, looking at spending per pupil so changes in enrollment don't distort the picture.
And unlike many districts we've examined, Freeland actually grew.
🎒 AVERAGE PUPIL COUNT
1,882 → 2,017.42
That's an increase of:
+7.2%
Now, follow the money. 🔎
💰 TOTAL FUNDING PER PUPIL
$8,407 → $12,667
+50.7%
That's 14.8 percentage points above our 35.83% inflation benchmark.
📚 INSTRUCTION PER PUPIL
$5,799 → $8,273
+42.7%
About 6.8 points above inflation.
🔎 INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT PER PUPIL
This is the number that immediately stands out:
$430 → $947
+120.2%
That's approximately 84.4 percentage points above inflation.
That number doesn't tell us why Instructional Support increased so dramatically.
But it certainly tells us where to look next.
🏛� BUSINESS & ADMINISTRATION PER PUPIL
$860 → $1,319
+53.4%
Approximately 17.5 points above inflation.
🔧 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE PER PUPIL
$756 → $1,073
+41.9%
Approximately 6.1 points above inflation.
So every per-pupil spending category we're tracking increased faster than the 35.83% inflation benchmark.
But then we get to teachers.
🍎 AVERAGE TEACHER SALARY
$62,264 → $70,405
That's an increase of:
+13.1%
In actual dollars, teacher salary went up.
But relative to inflation, that increase was approximately:
22.8 percentage points BELOW inflation.
And that's an important distinction.
Freeland served more students, received more funding per pupil, and increased spending per pupil across every category we're tracking faster than inflation, while reported average teacher salary grew substantially more slowly than inflation.
Does that tell us something was done right or wrong?
No.
But it gives us a very good question for the next page of the ledger:
Where did the growth go?
That's exactly why we don't stop at one number.
The Freeland ledger is open.
With receipts and respect.
#LadyBudgetdown #FreelandSchools #SaginawCounty #SchoolFinance #EducationTransparency #FollowTheMoney