Dearest reader,
Yesterday, Grand Haven's ten-year financial picture gave us a breadcrumb.
Today, we follow it into staffing. 🐇
From 2014–15 to 2024–25, Grand Haven Area Public Schools lost about 17% of its pupils - roughly 1,067 students.
But staffing did not move in the same direction.
Teacher FTE declined just 1.9%, while instructional aides declined 24.5%.
Meanwhile:
District/central administrators increased 101.1% - from 8.29 to 16.67 FTE.
Total administrators increased 12.4%.
And total staff increased 8.0% - from 790.40 to 853.44 FTE.
That means Grand Haven had about 63 more staff FTE while serving roughly 1,067 fewer pupils.
Now, numbers alone don't tell us whether those staffing changes were justified. They do tell us where the district chose to add and subtract people over the decade.
And there are some interesting shifts hiding inside those totals.
Next, we keep following the receipts. 👑
With receipts and respect.
#LadyBudgetdown #GrandHaven #GrandHavenAreaPublicSchools #MichiganSchools #SchoolStaffing #SchoolFinance #EducationTransparency #PublicEducation #FollowTheMoney #WithReceiptsAndRespect