Dearest reader,
The ledger has made its way to Meridian Public Schools.
And this one has an interesting little contrast hiding in the numbers.
Over the last decade:
📚 Student count: +2.64%
💰 All Sources Revenue per pupil: +54.03%
🏫 Total Instruction per pupil: +51.16%
📋 Instructional Support per pupil: +56.61%
🏢 Business & Administration per pupil: +90.59%
🔧 Operations & Maintenance per pupil: +53.34%
But average teacher salary?
Just +2.67%.
And after adjusting for inflation, average teacher salary actually fell 24.42% in purchasing power.
Meanwhile, Business & Administration spending per pupil increased 40.31% AFTER inflation.
That is quite a spread.
To be fair to Meridian, enrollment did not decline during this period. Student count increased slightly, from 1,337.00 to 1,372.27.
But when administrative spending per student nearly doubles while average teacher salary barely moves over an entire decade, Lady B believes that is worth putting on the ledger.
These figures come from MDE Bulletin 1014, using the same 2014-15 to 2024-25 methodology Lady B uses for every district.
No rumors. No conspiracy theories.
Just ten years of numbers.
With receipts and respect.
#LadyBudgetdown #MeridianPublicSchools #MichiganSchools #SchoolSpending #EducationFunding #TeacherPay #SchoolTransparency #TaxpayerDollars #FollowTheMoney #WithReceiptsAndRespect