Dearest Reader,
Roseville Community Schools has landed upon the ledger, and we begin, as this Author always does, with ten years of MDE Bulletin 1014 data laid plainly upon the table.
From 2014–15 to 2024–25, Roseville's pupil count declined from 4,997 to 4,117.42. A loss of 879.58 pupils, or 17.60 percent. Fewer children, Dear Reader, occupying fewer desks.
So what, one might ask, became of spending per pupil across that same decade?
All Sources Revenue: $11,096 → $16,365 — up 47.49 percent, or 8.58 percent after inflation.
Total Instruction: $6,377 → $9,065 — up 42.15 percent, or 4.65 percent after inflation.
Instructional Support: $1,136 → $2,226 — up 95.95 percent, or a striking 44.26 percent after inflation.
Business & Administration: $1,376 → $2,207 — up 60.39 percent, or 18.08 percent after inflation.
Operations & Maintenance: $1,075 → $1,854 — up 72.47 percent, or 26.97 percent after inflation.
And then, Dear Reader, there is the figure this Author insists on placing beside every one of those increases: teacher pay.
Average teacher salary rose from $69,492 to $73,953. A mere 6.42 percent across the entire decade. Adjusted for the same cumulative inflation used throughout these comparisons, that amounts to a 21.65 percent decline in purchasing power.
None of this, standing alone, tells us that any single category runs too high or too low. It tells us, simply, where the money moved.
Nearly eighteen percent fewer pupils.
Instructional support spending per pupil very nearly doubled.
Business and administration spending per pupil rose better than 60 percent.
Operations and maintenance spending per pupil rose better than 72 percent.
And average teacher salary? Up 6.42 percent.
Those, Dear Reader, are the breadcrumbs.
Now, we follow them into staffing.
With receipts and respect. 🪶
Lady Budgetdown
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