Reed City Area Public Schools - 10-YEAR Financial Snapshot

[Shadowninja]

Dearest reader,

The ledger has landed in Reed City Area Public Schools.

And as always, we begin in the same place: ten years of numbers.

From 2014-15 to 2024-25:

Enrollment fell from 1,569.00 pupils to 1,445.35.

That's 123.65 fewer students — a decline of 7.88%.

Meanwhile, per-pupil spending moved in the opposite direction:

All-sources revenue:
$8,869 → $14,942
+68.47% nominal
+24.03% after inflation

Total instruction:
$5,521 → $8,265
+49.70% nominal
+10.21% after inflation

Instructional support:
$417 → $1,267
+203.84% nominal
+123.69% after inflation

Business & administration:
$1,055 → $1,984
+88.06% nominal
+38.45% after inflation

Operations & maintenance:
$668 → $1,476
+120.96% nominal
+62.67% after inflation

And then there is teacher pay.

Average teacher salary:
$61,431 → $64,077

That's an increase of just $2,646, or 4.31%  across ten years.

After adjusting for inflation?

Down 23.21%.

That does not mean increased spending in the other categories was unnecessary. Numbers alone cannot tell us that.

But they can tell us where the money moved.

Reed City has fewer students than it did ten years ago. Revenue per pupil is substantially higher. Support, administration, and operations spending per pupil all grew faster than inflation.

Average teacher salary did not.

That is why we start with the ledger.

Numbers tell us where we've been.

Receipts help us understand where we are.

Next, we follow the people.

With receipts and respect.

#LadyBudgetdown #ReedCity #ReedCityAreaPublicSchools #MichiganSchools #SchoolFinance #PublicEducation #EducationSpending #TeacherPay #SchoolTransparency #FollowTheMoney #WithReceiptsAndRespect