A (likely small) mitigating factor in some places could also be changes in the experience levels of staff. I know when I first started teaching, there was a wave of teacher retirements in my hometown tied to a change in the state retirement system. That dramatically lowered teacher pay for several years as the new cohort of teachers joined in.
Too few conversations about this! Thank you. Aren’t the central offices growing even as student numbers stay flat or go down? From far away it appears like admin bloat and an easy area to cut.
They are, and for a variety of reasons. Additional regulations lead to increases in compliance-related positions, districts that pass bonds hire additional facilities staff, and changes in technology since 2002 have led to far more technology infrastructure positions. My favorite is the number of districts that now have one or more staff members allocated to responding to public records requests.
A (likely small) mitigating factor in some places could also be changes in the experience levels of staff. I know when I first started teaching, there was a wave of teacher retirements in my hometown tied to a change in the state retirement system. That dramatically lowered teacher pay for several years as the new cohort of teachers joined in.
Too few conversations about this! Thank you. Aren’t the central offices growing even as student numbers stay flat or go down? From far away it appears like admin bloat and an easy area to cut.
They are, and for a variety of reasons. Additional regulations lead to increases in compliance-related positions, districts that pass bonds hire additional facilities staff, and changes in technology since 2002 have led to far more technology infrastructure positions. My favorite is the number of districts that now have one or more staff members allocated to responding to public records requests.
Ah yes. Likely needs a good cleaning.
The best appreciation is proper compensation