Ashley Community Schools - 10-YEAR Financial Comparison

[Shadowninja]

Well, my dears... the carriage has rolled into Gratiot County, and Lady Budgetdown has opened the ledger on Ashley Community Schools.

And this little district gave the quill quite a workout.

Over ten years, Ashley's pupil count fell from 268 to 192.75, a decline of 28.1%.

Meanwhile, all-sources revenue per pupil climbed 87.2%.

Instruction spending per pupil rose 82.7%.

Total support spending per pupil rose 135.1%.

And then Business & Administration.

$1,140 per pupil in 2014-15 / 4,201 in 2024-25.

That is an increase of 268.5%.

Even after accounting for 35.83% cumulative inflation, that increase is still 171.3%.

🪶 And sitting quietly on the other side of the ledger?

Average teacher salary went from $50,142 to $40,161, down 19.9% before inflation is even considered.

Now, none of those numbers alone tells us why they changed. Small districts can have unusual cost structures, enrollment losses can make per-pupil figures climb quickly, and one line in a ledger is never the whole story.

But that is precisely why we open the ledger.

When enrollment falls, spending rises, administration costs climb sharply, and average teacher salary moves in the opposite direction, Lady Budgetdown does not declare a scandal.

She simply puts a rather large circle around it, dips the quill back into the ink, and keeps reading.

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

With receipts and respect. 🪶

#LadyBudgetdown #AshleyCommunitySchools #GratiotCounty #SchoolFinance #MichiganSchools #FollowTheReceipts #PublicEducation