Dearest reader,
Let us take a little trip to Kalamazoo. 🪶
Ten years. Same district. Same MDE dataset. And the numbers tell quite a story.
Kalamazoo Public Schools lost 423 pupils from 2014-15 to 2024-25, a decline of 3.35%.
But spending per pupil?
All-sources revenue climbed from $10,806 to $17,458 per pupil.
Total instruction rose from $6,373 to $9,342.
Instructional support went from $1,561 to $2,803.
Business & administration increased from $1,148 to $1,788.
Operations & maintenance rose from $984 to $1,747.
Of course, ten years of inflation matters. Quite a lot, actually. So Lady B adjusted every one of those figures using the July 2015 to July 2025 CPI-U increase of 35.831185%.
After inflation, per-pupil spending still increased:
🪶 All-sources revenue: +18.94%
🪶 Total instruction: +7.92%
🪶 Instructional support: +32.20%
🪶 Business & administration: +14.66%
🪶 Operations & maintenance: +30.71%
And then there are the teachers.
Average teacher salary increased from $56,416 to $78,211, a nominal increase of 38.63%.
Sounds substantial.
After inflation?
+2.06%.
That is why Lady B keeps doing the math.
A dollar in 2015 is not a dollar in 2025, and a percentage increase without inflation can tell a very different story.
This is only Step One of Kalamazoo's ledger.
And, dearest reader, we have several more pages to turn. 👀🪶
With receipts and respect.
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