Dearest reader,

Sometimes a reader asks a question that opens an entirely different ledger.

Tonight, that reader was Jon Eastman.

Jon questioned the Clarkston pupil count Lady B published because he knew the district's traditional enrollment had been declining.

The number wasn't wrong.

Michigan's 2024-25 Bulletin 1014 reports Clarkston's pupil count as 9,024.69.

That is exactly what Lady B reported.

But Jon's question led somewhere much more interesting.

Clarkston's regular student headcount:

2014-15: 7,789

2024-25: 6,645

Down 1,144 students.

Down 14.7%.�

Clarkston's Shared Time headcount:

2014-15: 1,791

2024-25: 8,373

Up 6,582 students.

Up 367.5%.

And this is where the rabbit hole gets interesting.

Those 8,373 Shared Time students are not 8,373 additional full-time students attending Clarkston schools.

Shared Time allows a public school district to provide eligible classes to students attending nonpublic schools and receive state funding based on the fractional FTE generated by those classes.

In 2024-25, Clarkston reported:

Regular FTE: 6,629.59

Shared Time FTE: 2,296.81

Of that Shared Time FTE:

Nonpublic: 2,294.24

Homeschool: 2.57

So why would a public school district with declining traditional enrollment aggressively grow a program serving students in private schools?

Money appears to be a rather important part of the answer.

And Lady B isn't speculating.

Bridge Michigan investigated this exact issue in 2019.

Their reporting found that districts could receive considerably more state funding through Shared Time than it cost them to provide the services.

Why?

Because the public district can receive state aid for the Shared Time FTE while many of the expenses of educating those students aren't theirs.

The private school already has the building.

The private school is paying the utilities.

The private school is covering many of the operating expenses.

And Bridge reported that Shared Time teachers were often paid less than teachers working in the districts' traditional classrooms.

The difference can become revenue for the public district.

Clarkston wasn't some hypothetical example buried in that article.

Clarkston was specifically named.

Bridge reported in 2019 that Clarkston had roughly 170 Shared Time teachers and more than 30 long-term substitutes, with most of those substitutes working in Shared Time.

At the time, Bridge couldn't determine exactly how much Clarkston was profiting from the arrangement.

That was seven years ago.

Now look at the growth.

1,791 Shared Time students became 8,373.

While Clarkston lost 1,144 regular students.

So perhaps the more interesting question isn't:

"Why does Clarkston's state pupil count look so high?"

Perhaps it is:

How much money is Clarkston Community Schools generating from Shared Time?

How much does it actually cost Clarkston to provide those services?

How much is left after those expenses?

Where does that money go?

And how dependent has Clarkston become on Shared Time revenue as its traditional enrollment has declined?

There is another piece worth remembering.

This model became controversial enough that former Governor Rick Snyder proposed dramatically cutting state funding for Shared Time programs.

And the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council later described programs like Shared Time as a way districts hedge against the financial pressure of declining enrollment.

In other words...

Traditional enrollment falls.

Find students elsewhere.

Generate FTE.

Generate state aid.

Keep the difference between the revenue and the cost of providing the program.

That certainly makes a 367.5% increase worth examining.

And no, Lady B will not be changing the original Clarkston graphic.

The 9,024.69 figure is exactly what Michigan's Bulletin 1014 reports, and Bulletin 1014 is the source used consistently in these district comparisons.

The graphic did its job.

In fact, it did something even better.

It caused a reader to ask a question.

That question uncovered another ledger.

Credit where credit is due.

Thank you, Jon, for spotting the breadcrumb.

Lady B will take it from here. 🪶

With receipts and respect.

#LadyBudgetdown #ClarkstonCommunitySchools #ClarkstonSchools #SharedTime #MichiganSchools #SchoolFunding #PublicEducation #TaxpayerDollars #FollowTheMoney