Northport Public School - 10-YEAR Administrative Spending

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LADY BUDGETDOWN | NORTHPORT PUBLIC SCHOOL

📊 STEP 1A: A DECADE OF ADMINISTRATIVE SPENDING

2014–15 vs. 2024–25

In our previous post, Lady B examined Northport Public School's declining enrollment and changes in per-pupil revenue and expenditures.

Now we're looking at something different: actual administrative spending.

Using Michigan Department of Education Bulletin 1011, Lady B compared Northport's General Fund administrative expenditures over the same 10-year period.

💰 TOTAL ADMINISTRATIVE SPENDING

2014–15: $719,942 
2024–25: $784,459

That's an increase of $64,516, or 8.96%, over the decade.

But where did that increase occur?

📋 BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS

🔹 General Administration 
2014–15: $417,149 
2024–25: $450,450 
Increase: 7.98%

🔹 School Administration 
2014–15: $149,170 
2024–25: $180,235 
Increase: 20.82%

🔹 Business Administration 
2014–15: $153,623 
2024–25: $153,774 
Increase: 0.10%

School administration experienced the largest percentage increase, while business administration remained nearly unchanged.

🏫 NOW CONSIDER ENROLLMENT

Over this same period, Northport's student enrollment declined from 174 to 126.23, a decrease of 27.45%.

Despite serving fewer students, the district's total administrative expenditures increased modestly in nominal dollars.

However, there is another important distinction.

Administrative expenditures represented approximately 17.67% of current operating expenditures in 2014–15, compared with 16.21% in 2024–25.

That means administration accounted for a smaller share of operating expenditures at the end of the decade.

💭 WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

In Step 1, we reported that Northport's business and administration spending per pupil increased 68.87%.

Step 1A provides additional context.

Actual administrative expenditures increased just 8.96% over the decade, while enrollment declined substantially.

These are different financial measures, drawn from different MDE reporting categories, and they should not be confused.

A rising per-pupil figure does not necessarily mean total spending is increasing at the same rate.

📚 SOURCE: Michigan Department of Education, Bulletin 1011, General Fund expenditures, 2014–15 and 2024–25.

Lady B will continue examining Northport's staffing and administrative structure in our next comparison.

👑 Lady B | With Receipts and Respect.

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