About the Michigan School Almanac

The Michigan School Almanac is an independent public reference tool for Michigan school finance, student enrollment, and staffing data.

1. Project Purpose & Independence

The Almanac compiles official, audited state records to help Michigan parents, educators, school board members, researchers, and citizens review public school finances.

• Independent Reference: The Michigan School Almanac is an open public resource.
• Nonpartisan & Objective: The platform produces no subjective rankings, letter grades, or scores, accepts no advertising or paid placements, and has no affiliation with political organizations or school vendors.
• Audited Public Records: All figures are compiled directly from audited state publications.

2. Official State Data Sources

Data is compiled from public reports published by state agencies:

1. Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI):
   * Financial Information Database (FID): Audited school district revenues, expenditures, and fund balances across statutory funds.
   * Registry of Educational Personnel (REP): Staffing full-time equivalencies (FTEs) for classroom teachers, instructional support, and administration.
   * Pupil Membership Counts: Audited Fall and Spring student headcounts computed under Michigan's statutory 90/10 blend (MCL 388.1606).
   * Educational Entity Master (EEM): Directory of operational public school districts and buildings.

2. Michigan Department of Education (MDE):
   * Bulletin 1014: Annual Michigan Public School District Financial Information summaries.
   * Bulletin 1011: Analysis of Michigan Public School Revenues and Expenditures by Fund.
   * State Aid Financial Status Reports: Monthly state aid foundation allowance runs and Section 147c retirement equalization pass-through records.

3. Michigan Department of Treasury:
   * Form L-4029 Apportionment Reports: Property tax millage rates (Operating Non-Homestead, Debt, and Sinking Funds) and taxable valuations.

3. Accounting Standards & Fund Segregation

Financial reporting follows official state accounting guidelines:

• MDE Bulletin 1022: Expenditures are organized under the Michigan Public School Accounting Manual (Bulletin 1022) standard categories: Instruction, Student Support, Administration, and Operations & Maintenance.
• Statutory Fund Separation: Operating funds (Fund 11) and voter-approved capital bond or sinking fund balances (Fund 41) are reported separately. Under Michigan law (MCL 380.1212 & MCL 380.1351a), capital funds cannot be used to pay operating expenses or salaries.
• Missing Data Transparency: If a district filing is not reported by state agencies for a given year, it is noted as "Not Reported" rather than estimated or set to zero.

4. Contact & Inquiries

We welcome feedback, questions, and data inquiries:

• Project: Michigan School Almanac
• Feedback Email: hello@michiganschoolalmanac.com