BANGOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS: TEN YEARS LATER

The ledger has made its way to Van Buren County.

Bangor Public Schools (80020), 2014-15 to 2024-25. And this one has a rather interesting story to tell.

Over ten years:

• Pupil count fell from 1,248 to 935.43 - down 25.0%.

• All-sources revenue per pupil rose from $9,771 to $16,421 - up 68.1%.

• Total instruction per pupil rose from $5,822 to $9,845 - up 69.1%.

• Business & administration per pupil rose from $1,530 to $2,685 - up 75.5%.

• Operations & maintenance per pupil rose from $987 to $2,081 - up 110.8%.

• Total support per pupil rose from $3,508 to $6,574 - up 87.4%.

And then there are the teachers.

Average teacher salary was $49,972 in 2014-15.

Ten years later?

$47,412.

That is $2,560 LESS than it was a decade ago, a 5.1% decline before inflation is even considered.

During the same period, CPI increased 35.83%.

So Bangor lost roughly one-quarter of its pupils. Revenue per pupil climbed 68%. Instruction spending per pupil climbed 69%. Business and administration climbed 76%. Operations and maintenance more than doubled.

Yet the average teacher salary went backward.

That leaves Lady Budgetdown with a rather obvious question:

Where did the additional money go, and what changed inside Bangor Public Schools over those ten years?

I suspect the staffing ledger may have something to say about that next.

Source: Michigan Department of Education, Bulletin 1014, 2014-15 & 2024-25.

Receipts aren't very useful if we only keep the convenient ones.