ANN ARBOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Well now, dearest reader.
A reader sent me an article from Michigan Capitol Confidential about the financial troubles at Ann Arbor Public Schools.
It said Ann Arbor had added 480 staff members since 2019–20, including 417 teachers, while enrollment declined.
That certainly sounded like a breadcrumb worth following. 👀
So I did what I always do.
I opened the source.
And we have a problem.
The 480 number is real.
The 417 number is real.
But the timeframe reported in the article does not match the source it relies upon.
Ann Arbor's own March 2024 presentation says:
During the TEN YEARS from 2014–15 through 2023–24, the district added 480 employee FTE.
According to AAPS, 417 of those 480 added employee FTE were teachers.
Not since 2019–20.
In fact, AAPS's own table shows total employee FTE at:
2019–20: 2,088
2023–24: 2,127
That's an increase of 39 employee FTE, not 480.
Well.
Now the spectacles were staying on. 🤓
Because rather than simply substitute Ann Arbor's internal staffing numbers for the article's numbers, I went to Michigan's own education data and opened the staffing and enrollment ledgers.
And the picture became considerably more interesting.
📚 STUDENT ENROLLMENT
Ann Arbor reached 18,074 students in 2019–20.
By 2024–25:
16,872 students
That's 1,202 fewer students in five years.
↓ 6.7%
That decline is very real.
But over the longer 2014–15 → 2024–25 period, Michigan's staffing data show something you might not expect after reading the article.
👥 TOTAL STAFF FTE
2,848.98 → 2,692.23
↓ 5.5%
Yes.
Total staff FTE actually decreased over that period.
But that doesn't mean nothing changed.
Quite the opposite.
The composition of Ann Arbor's workforce changed considerably.
🍎 TEACHERS
1,160.15 → 1,424.05 FTE
↑ 22.7%
📖 PARAPROFESSIONALS/AIDES
310.50 → 357.20 FTE
↑ 15.0%
And then we get to administration.
Overall administration did not explode.
But when I opened the more detailed staffing ledger, something underneath that total caught my attention.
🏫 BUILDING ADMINISTRATION
69.70 → 55.90 FTE
↓ 19.8%
Meanwhile...
🏛� DISTRICT/CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION
11.00 → 27.20 FTE
↑ 147.3%
That distinction matters.
I am NOT saying Ann Arbor increased its entire administrative workforce by 147.3%.
It didn't.
What the detailed staffing records show is a shift:
Fewer administrative FTE at the building level.
More at the district/central level.
And a 147.3% increase in district/central administration FTE over the decade.
Then came the financial consequences.
Ann Arbor ultimately faced a roughly $25 million budget correction.
And this isn't merely Lady Budgetdown looking at two numbers and declaring what caused it.
An independent review conducted by Plante Moran concluded that the district had not sufficiently reduced employee count to correspond with declining enrollment and that the disparity contributed to the district's budget and fund-balance shortfall.
But there's one more receipt that belongs in this story.
Ann Arbor responded.
The district made substantial budget reductions, rebuilt its fund balance and improved its financial position.
That matters too.
Because the ledger shouldn't only document how a district got into trouble.
It should document what happened afterward.
So what started with a reader sending me an article turned into something a little different.
The article contained legitimate numbers.
But when I followed those numbers back to their source, the timeframe attached to one of its biggest claims didn't match the underlying AAPS presentation.
And when I opened Michigan's own staffing ledger, the story became even more nuanced.
Enrollment fell 6.7% from its 2019–20 peak.
Total staff FTE over the longer decade comparison fell 5.5%.
Teacher FTE increased 22.7%.
Paraprofessional/aide FTE increased 15.0%.
Building administration decreased 19.8%.
District/central administration increased 147.3%.
And eventually, Ann Arbor had to make a very large financial correction.
That's why I follow breadcrumbs.
But I don't publish the breadcrumb.
I publish the receipts. 🪶
With receipts and respect.
Ann Arbor Public Schools
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