Port Huron Area Schools - 10-YEAR Financial Snapshot

[Shadowninja]

Dearest reader,

Lady B has arrived in Port Huron.

And as always, we begin with ten years of numbers.

From 2014-15 to 2024-25, Port Huron Area School District went from:

9,136.00 pupils → 6,900.61

That is 2,235.39 fewer pupils.

A decline of 24.47%.

Nearly one-quarter of the district's pupil count.

Now let's follow the money.

All-sources revenue per pupil:
$9,494 → $16,107
+69.65% nominal
+24.90% after inflation

So considerably more revenue is available per pupil today, even after accounting for inflation.

But look at where the numbers begin to separate.

Total instruction per pupil:
$8,145 → $9,300
+14.18% nominal
−15.94% after inflation

Instructional support:
$969 → $2,315
+138.91% nominal
+75.88% after inflation

Business & administration:
$1,087 → $2,004
+84.36% nominal
+35.73% after inflation

Operations & maintenance:
$746 → $1,213
+62.60% nominal
+19.71% after inflation

And then we arrive at the teachers.

Average teacher salary:
$58,953 → $71,199

That's an increase of $12,246, or 20.77%.

But after accounting for inflation?

−11.09%.

That's the part of this ledger Lady B keeps coming back to.

Port Huron has nearly one-quarter fewer pupils than it did ten years ago.

Revenue per pupil increased 24.90% beyond inflation.

Instructional support increased 75.88% beyond inflation.

Business and administration increased 35.73%.

Operations and maintenance increased 19.71%.

Yet total instruction per pupil lost 15.94% of its inflation-adjusted value, and average teacher salary lost 11.09%.

That doesn't tell us that any particular expenditure was unnecessary.

It does tell us something about priorities over time.

And that is precisely why Lady B doesn't stop at the total amount of money coming in.

The more interesting question is where it went.

Next, we follow the people.

With receipts and respect.

#LadyBudgetdown #PortHuron #PortHuronAreaSchools #PHASD #MichiganSchools #PublicEducation #SchoolFinance #EducationSpending #TeacherPay #SchoolFunding #SchoolTransparency #FollowTheMoney #WithReceiptsAndRespect