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Opinion | How to improve Michigan schools? Ask professionals on the front lines
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After reading the Bridge Michigan opinion piece entitled “Michigan taxpayers are paying more and getting less in education” by former Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger, my initial thought was here we go again. Another criticism of K-12 education not based on facts.
I am not disputing that change and improvements need to happen. I am simply suggesting that the change needs to be thoughtful and include input from professionals, especially experienced teachers and school principals in the field.
However, let me also correct at least one statement in Mr. Bolger’s opinion piece. According to Mr. Bolger, “Michigan is now spending more than $15,000 per student, which is the equivalent to $375,000 per classroom of 25 students. But instead of seeing improved results or better teacher pay, taxpayers see growing administrative costs and ballooning bureaucracy. Where is the money going?”
Well, Mr. Bolger, please allow the Michigan Department of Education and the Center for Education Performance and Information (CEPI) to answer that question. Annually, all school districts and charter schools in the state must submit a comprehensive financial report to the state. For decades, the Michigan Department of Education has produced two annual reports which provide details on every district and totals for the state as a whole. They are the Department of Education’s Bulletins 1011 and 1014.
Specifically, let’s look at statewide totals for administrative expenditures compared to total K-12 expenditures as listed in Bulletin 1011. Most people would consider “administrative” costs (or “bureaucracy” as Mr. Bolger labels it) as expenses for the board of education, superintendent’s central office and the business office. The last year the report is available is the 2023-2024 school year.
In 2023-2024, K-12 schools statewide spent approximately $21.59 billion. Of this, about $845.8 million was spent on the central office, business office and board of education or what Mr. Bolger might label “administrative bureaucracy.” That represents 3.92% of total expenditures. In the 2013-2014 school year, that percentage was 3.98%. In other words, K-12 schools actually spent slightly LESS on administration in 2023-2024 than 10 years earlier.
In 2023-2024, schools did spend less on classroom instruction for regular ed, special ed, and career tech classrooms than 10 years earlier. K-12 schools in 2023-2024 did spend about 4% less of their budget in the classroom than a decade ago. In 2023-2024, 55.4% of expenses were geared to the classroom versus 59.5% 10 years earlier.
That is a concern. However, if the money did not go to administration, where did it go? Two areas of the budget increased the most: student services/teacher support and capital outlay. These two areas make up most of the 4%.
Student services/teacher support include school counselors, social workers, attendance, and professional development for teachers. I don’t know about you, but I do not call those categories “bureaucracy”.
Capital outlay is spending on repairing roofs, replacing boilers, other major maintenance repairs as well as the acquisition of technology and classroom furniture. Again, that does not sound like “bureaucracy” to me. (Michigan, unlike Indiana and many other states, does not provide funding to local schools for capital outlay including buildings.)
The decline in spending in Michigan schools on direct classroom support is a concern. But let’s get it right. Michigan K-12 schools have decades of deferred maintenance. Thus, capital outlay is needed to ensure buildings are safe and efficient for Michigan’s students. Also, schools need to keep pace with changing technology. And do Michigan’s students need support from counselors and social workers? Do teachers need professional development to understand the best research on teaching math or reading? I think so.
Mr. Bolger’s blanket statement that schools are spending excessively on “administrative bureaucracy” does not match the facts. Do K-12 schools need to improve reading and math scores? Absolutely. Maybe we should stop listening to political pundits complaining about test scores and then suggesting changes that are not research based. Instead, I suggest we ask those teachers and educational professionals on the front lines how they would improve our schools.
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