EAST LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – At East Lansing Public Schools, there has been a 30% in full-time staffing while enrollment has been virtually flat.

The school district’s full-time has staffing has increased from 389 positions in 2019-20 to 505 full-time jobs in 2024-25. Enrollment during that five-year span has increased by just 17 students, going form 3,711 to 3,728.

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East Lansing is part of statewide trend that has seen K-12 staffing across the state jump to its highest levels in at least 17 years despite a constant decrease in student enrollment.

The number of people employed full-time by Michigan’s K-12 schools has increased from 204,927 in 2019-20 to 225,700 in 2024-25, according to recent data provided by the state of Michigan. That’s a 10% increase in full-time staffing while enrollment during that span has dropped from 1.49 million to 1.42 million. School funding has increased from $16.0 billion to $20.6 billion over those five years.

Part of the increase is due to the spike in federal funding due to the COVID-19 pandemic that had to be all allocated by December 2024. The state of Michigan has also provided state grants for school district to hire more mental health and school safety employees. In October, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a law that provide $125 million in school safety and mental health grants.

There has been an noticeable increase in non-instructional workers hired over the past five years. Statewide, non-instructional full-time workers has increased from 67,021 in 2019-20 to 80,989 in 2024-25, a 21% increase.

The job titles of non-instructional workers touch upon every aspect of K-12 schools and includes positions such as clerks, bus drivers, financial analysts, computer programmer, crossing guards, food service workers and maintenance workers.