MIDLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS: 10-YEAR FOLLOW THE STAFFING

[Shadowninja]

LADY BUDGETDOWN: MIDLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS: FOLLOW THE STAFFING

Our first look at Midland Public Schools (56010) gave us the ten-year financial picture. Now we're turning to the people behind those numbers. And Midland is a perfect example of why simply counting employees doesn't always tell the whole story.

🎒 FIRST, THE STUDENTS

From 2014–15 to 2024–25, Midland's student headcount went from:
7,684 → 7,395

That's:
−289 students - or −3.8%

Now let's look at staffing.

👥 TOTAL STAFF HEADCOUNT
1,629 → 1,545

That's:
−84 staff members - or −5.2%

At first glance, that seems pretty straightforward.

Enrollment declined.

Staff headcount declined.

But then we look at FTE - Full-Time Equivalent staffing.

And the picture changes.

🔎 TOTAL STAFF FTE
877.08 → 976.59

That's:
+99.51 FTE - or +11.3%

So Midland reported 84 fewer individual staff members, while simultaneously reporting the equivalent of 99.51 more full-time positions.

That's exactly why Lady Budgetdown looks at both headcount and FTE. 📜

🏛� AND THIS ISN'T AN ADMINISTRATOR-GROWTH STORY

Administrator headcount fell:
73 → 35 = −52.1%

Administrator FTE also fell:
45.55 → 35.00 = −23.2%

So where did FTE increase?

🍎 TEACHERS
445.70 → 471.79 FTE
+5.9%
👥 PARAPROFESSIONALS & AIDES
138.36 → 178.13 FTE
+28.7%

⚙️ NON-INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF
247.47 → 291.67 FTE
+17.9%

Those are meaningful differences.

And remember what we found when we opened Midland's financial ledger:

Instructional Support spending per pupil increased 92.5%.

Does today's staffing data prove that the staffing changes caused that increase?

No.

The staffing categories and financial expenditure categories don't line up neatly enough to make that claim.

But it does give us another piece of the puzzle, and another reason to keep looking.

The larger point here may actually be simpler:

Headcount and staffing levels are not the same thing.

Midland had 3.8% fewer students and 5.2% fewer individual staff members, yet its total staff FTE increased 11.3%.

Had we looked only at headcount, we would have missed that entirely.

And that's why Lady Budgetdown doesn't stop at the first number.

Context matters.

With receipts and respect.

#LadyBudgetdown #MidlandPublicSchools #MidlandSchools #MidlandCounty #SchoolStaffing #EducationTransparency #FollowTheMoney