Dearest Readers,
Our next 10-year financial snapshot takes us to Van Buren Public Schools (82430) in Wayne County.
The numbers tell an interesting story.
From 2014–15 to 2024–25, Van Buren's average pupil count declined from 5,035 to 4,239.13, a decrease of approximately 15.8%.
During that same period:
💰 Total funding per pupil
$9,465 → $16,740
Up 76.9%
🏛� Total instruction per pupil
$5,309 → $9,253
Up 74.3%
📚 Instructional support per pupil
$912 → $2,131
Up 133.7%
📊 Business & administration per pupil
$887 → $1,759
Up 98.3%
🏫 Operations & maintenance per pupil
$1,007 → $1,907
Up 89.4%
And then there is teacher compensation.
🍎 Average teacher salary
$59,275 → $77,737
Up 31.1%
For context, cumulative CPI-U inflation over the comparison period was approximately 35.83%.
That means funding per pupil, instruction, instructional support, business and administration, and operations and maintenance all increased faster than inflation.
Average teacher salary did not.
So Van Buren presents taxpayers with an interesting 10-year picture: fewer pupils, substantially more funding per pupil, significant growth across several spending categories, and average teacher salaries that did not quite keep pace with inflation.
As always, these numbers don't tell readers what to think.
They give readers something to think about.
With receipts and respect.
Source: Michigan Department of Education financial data, 2014–15 and 2024–25.
Data compiled and visualized by Lady Budgetdown using publicly available records.
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