Grand Ledge Public Schools - 10-YEAR Snapshot

[Shadowninja]

Dearest reader,

Lady B is opening the ledger on Grand Ledge Public Schools. 📖🪶

Today, we're starting with Step 1, a 10-year comparison of enrollment, spending, and teacher salaries using Michigan Department of Education Bulletin 1014 data.

And dear reader, some of these numbers deserve a closer look.

📚 STUDENT ENROLLMENT

2014–15: 5,167 students
2024–25: 5,441.39 students

That's an increase of just 5.31% over ten years.

Now, let's follow the money.

💰 ALL SOURCES REVENUE PER PUPIL

2014–15: $9,014
2024–25: $14,649

That's a 62.51% increase in actual dollars, or 20.23% after adjusting for inflation.

But where did the spending increases occur?

📊 PER-PUPIL SPENDING CHANGES

Here is what happened over the same ten years, after adjusting for inflation:

🏫 Total Instruction: +3.89%

📖 Instructional Support: +69.30%

🏢 Business & Administration: +21.01%

🔧 Operations & Maintenance: +37.14%

Notice anything interesting?

Instructional support spending per pupil increased substantially, while direct instruction spending per pupil increased just 3.89% after inflation.

That raises a question worth exploring: What accounts for the substantial growth in instructional support, and how much of that spending reaches classrooms?

And then there's teacher compensation.

🍎 AVERAGE TEACHER SALARY

2014–15: $56,218
2024–25: $63,364

On paper, that's a 12.71% increase.

But after adjusting for inflation?

Teachers experienced a 16.62% decline in purchasing power.

Yes, dear reader. While the district's per-pupil revenue increased 20.23% after inflation, the average teacher salary lost 16.62% of its purchasing power.

Now, Lady B isn't suggesting every dollar of increased spending should have gone toward salaries. Schools have many financial obligations, and some costs have increased substantially.

But the contrast is certainly worth examining.

And remember, these are per-pupil figures. Enrollment increased only 5.31%, so these changes aren't simply the result of serving substantially more students.

Lady B's question is simple:

As more money flowed into the district over the past decade, how were those additional resources distributed, and what changed for the students and teachers?

And this is only Step 1.

Next, I'll examine staffing changes, including teachers, paraprofessionals, and administrators.

Because the numbers tell a story, dear reader.

Sometimes the most interesting part is what happens when you put them side by side.

With receipts and respect,
Lady B 🪶

#LadyBudgetdown #GrandLedgePublicSchools #MichiganEducation #SchoolFinance #EducationSpending #TeacherPay #SchoolTransparency #FollowTheMoney #WithReceiptsAndRespect