MONTROSE: THE STAFFING LEDGER

[Shadowninja]

🪶 LADY BUDGETDOWN | MONTROSE: THE STAFFING LEDGER

Darling, now that we've looked at how the dollars changed over ten years, it's time to look at the people behind those numbers.

And Montrose Community Schools gives us an interesting comparison because, unlike many districts we've examined, student enrollment was remarkably stable.

From 2014–15 to 2024–25:

🎓 Student enrollment: 1,423 → 1,448
+25 students (+1.8%)

Meanwhile...

👥 Total staff headcount: 245 → 325
+80 employees (+32.7%)

📊 Total staff FTE: 141.97 → 198.35
+56.38 FTE (+39.7%)

But context matters, because those increases weren't confined to one corner of the district.

Teachers increased from 78 to 98 (+25.6%) by headcount, while teacher FTE increased 23.8%.

Paraprofessionals and aides saw the largest percentage growth, rising from 19 to 36 (+89.5%) by headcount and from 17.25 to 33.50 FTE (+94.2%).

Non-instructional staffing also grew substantially: 73 to 120 employees (+64.4%), with FTE increasing 48.5%.

Administrators increased from 8 to 10 (+25.0%), or 7.50 to 9.50 FTE (+26.7%).

There is an important distinction here: headcount and FTE are not the same thing. Headcount includes day-to-day substitutes. The MI School Data FTE table does not report those substitutes, which is why Lady Budgetdown shows both measures instead of pretending they're interchangeable.

So what does the ledger tell us?

Over a decade in which Montrose enrollment increased just 1.8%, overall staffing capacity increased considerably. But the records also show that much of that growth occurred among teachers, paraprofessionals/aides, and non-instructional employees — not simply administrators.

No conclusions need to be manufactured.

The numbers are interesting enough on their own.

🪶 Context matters. Comparisons matter. And the same measuring stick follows Lady Budgetdown from district to district.
With receipts and respect.

#LadyBudgetdown #MontroseCommunitySchools #MichiganSchools #EducationTransparency #PublicRecords #SchoolStaffing #FollowTheNumbers