Dearest reader,

Step 2 of our Southfield Public Schools review takes us from the dollars to the people.

And this one is a good example of why I don't like looking at a single staffing number and calling it a day.

From 2014-15 to 2024-25, Southfield's pupil FTE declined by 35.61%.

Over that same decade:

Teachers
353.20 → 232.76 FTE
Down 34.1%

Instructional Aides
39.70 → 23.00
Down 42.1%

Guidance
16.50 → 9.50
Down 42.4%

Library Specialists
3.80 → 0.20
Down 94.7%

School Support
43.47 → 28.51
Down 34.4%

But other categories moved in the opposite direction.
LEA Administration
15.80 → 19.80
Up 25.3%

LEA Administrative Support
4.00 → 7.50
Up 87.5%

Student Support
2.70 → 14.00
Up 418.5%

Other Support
237.05 → 366.61
Up 54.7%

Then we cross-check the administrative picture with NCES for Step 2A.

LEA/District Administrators increased from 20.80 to 23.80 FTE — up 14.4%.

School Administrators, however, fell from 54.10 to 24.00 — down 55.6%.

Put those together and total administrator FTE actually declined from 74.90 to 47.80, or 36.2%.

So this is not a story where I can simply say, "administration exploded."

It didn't.

What did change is where the staffing sits.

While pupil FTE declined 35.61%, teacher FTE declined 34.1% — almost in step with enrollment.

But total staff FTE tells a very different story.

907.82 → 857.08.

That's a decline of only 5.6% while pupil FTE declined more than 35%.

Southfield is serving roughly 2,465 fewer pupil FTE than it did a decade ago, yet total staffing has declined by only about 51 FTE.

And underneath that overall number are some very large shifts between individual staffing categories.

That's why we follow more than one receipt.

The question isn't simply whether staffing went up or down.

It's where it moved.

On to Step 3.

With receipts and respect. 🪶

#LadyBudgetdown #SouthfieldPublicSchools #SouthfieldSchools #SchoolStaffing #Teachers #SchoolAdministration #PublicSchools #MichiganSchools #SchoolTransparency #WithReceiptsAndRespect