Dearest reader,
The spectacles went back on.
And Merrill's staffing ledger added another chapter to a thought worth remembering:
Small districts can have very different ledgers.
Merrill Community Schools went from 680 pupils to 458.73 over the decade.
🎒 Pupil count:
680.00 → 458.73
🔴 ↓ 32.54%
Nearly one-third of the pupil count disappeared.
Now let's follow the people.
🍎 Teachers — REP
32.25 → 30.48 FTE
🔴 ↓ 5.49%
📚 Instructional aides — REP
7.95 → 2.79 FTE
🔴 ↓ 64.91%
🧭 Guidance counselors — REP
2.00 → 1.59 FTE
🔴 ↓ 20.50%
Then I opened the NCES staffing ledger.
🏛� Total administrators — NCES
9.00 → 9.92 FTE
🟢 ↑ 10.22%
Within that:
🏢 District/LEA administrators
8.00 → 9.92 FTE
🟢 ↑ 24.00%
And finally:
👥 Total staff — NCES
78.45 → 93.01 FTE
🟢 ↑ 18.56%
Well now. 👀
Over a decade in which Merrill's pupil count fell 32.54%, its total staff FTE didn't fall alongside it.
It increased 18.56%.
Total administrative FTE increased 10.22%.
District/LEA administrative FTE increased 24.00%.
Meanwhile, teacher FTE declined 5.49%, and instructional aide FTE declined nearly 65%.
Do those numbers, by themselves, tell us why?
No.
But they certainly tell us where to place the spectacles.
And this is precisely why I don't grade a district on its size.
Small does not automatically mean efficient.
Large does not automatically mean wasteful.
And enrollment alone does not determine whether the ledger turns red or green.
Small districts can have very different ledgers.
Same methodology.
Same abacus.
Same standard.
The receipts decide where the quill goes next. 🪶
With receipts and respect.
#LadyBudgetdown #MerrillCommunitySchools #SaginawCounty #MichiganSchools #SchoolStaffing #SchoolAdministration #TeacherStaffing #PublicEducation #SchoolFinance #FollowTheReceipts #NumbersTellAStoryToo #WithReceiptsAndRespect