Dearest reader,
We have followed Kalamazoo Public Schools through ten years of spending and staffing.
Now Lady B has arrived at the payroll ledger. 🪶
And there are quite a few commas in this one.
According to the district's 2025 employee compensation report, 60 employees had base salaries above $100,000.
Their combined base salaries?
$8,246,352.23.
But salary is only part of what a district pays to employ someone.
Once the district-paid compensation and benefits reported for those same 60 employees are included, the total reaches:
$13,426,211.80.
Yes, dearest reader.
$13.43 million for 60 employees.
Then Lady B wandered upstairs to the executive offices.
Superintendent:
$272,640.55 salary
$419,211.71 total district compensation
Assistant Superintendent — Student Services & Leadership:
$179,089.43 salary
$290,876.55 total compensation
Assistant Superintendent — Elementary Instruction & Leadership:
$171,992.08 salary
$280,551.17 total compensation
Assistant Superintendent — Secondary Instruction & Leadership:
$171,992.08 salary
$276,207.53 total compensation
Chief Financial Officer:
$172,882.97 salary
$254,924.23 total compensation
That means all five of these district executives exceeded $250,000 in total district compensation.
And remember the breadcrumb from our last page of the Kalamazoo ledger?
Over the decade, pupil count declined 3.4%.
Teacher FTE declined 4.3%.
But district/central administrator FTE increased 113.9%.
Lady B does not decide whether someone is worth their salary. That is not what this ledger does.
But taxpayers should be able to see what their public school district spends, where it spends it, and how those priorities have changed over time.
So we put the numbers on the table.
No whispers. No rumors. Just the district's own records.
And Kalamazoo still has a few pages left in its ledger. 👀🪶
With receipts and respect.
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