Dearest reader,
Now that we know where the money moved, let's look at where the people moved.
Reed City Area Public Schools has 123.65 fewer pupils than it did ten years ago, a decline of 7.88%.
But staffing went the other direction.
From 2014-15 to 2024-25:
Teachers:
66.00 → 74.95 FTE
+13.56%
Instructional aides:
3.70 → 10.87
+193.78%
School support:
8.60 → 13.09
+52.21%
Student support:
0.00 → 13.57
Other support:
29.69 → 56.53
+90.40%
And then we checked the administrative side using NCES data.
LEA/district administrators:
4.50 → 6.05
+34.44%
School administrators:
5.70 → 7.00
+22.81%
Total administrators:
10.20 → 13.05
+27.94%
And the biggest number?
Total staff across all positions:
138.04 → 206.53 FTE
That's an increase of 68.49 FTE, or 49.62%, while pupil count declined 7.88%.
There is some important context here.
This is not a story of teachers disappearing while everything else grew. Reed City added teachers too, nearly 9 FTE over the decade.
And an increase in support staff isn't automatically a bad thing. Student needs change. Programs change. Staffing models change.
But a nearly 50% increase in total staffing alongside declining enrollment is worth seeing.
Especially after Step 1 showed substantial inflation-adjusted growth in several support-spending categories while average teacher salary lost purchasing power.
One set of numbers tells us where the money went.
The next tells us where the people went.
And now the picture is getting a little clearer.
With receipts and respect.
#LadyBudgetdown #ReedCity #ReedCityAreaPublicSchools #MichiganSchools #PublicEducation #SchoolStaffing #SchoolFinance #TeacherPay #SchoolAdministration #EducationSpending #SchoolTransparency #FollowTheNumbers #WithReceiptsAndRespect