LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Despite multiple media reports, the state of Michigan doesn’t have a teacher shortage – it has a student shortage.

The math doesn’t add up.

The state’s K-12 public school districts have 112,619 fewer students while those districts have employed 62,004 more employees from 2015 to 2025. At that same time, the state budget spending on K-12 schools has increased from $13.7 billion to $20.6 billion.

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Additionally, the U.S. News & World Report rated Michigan 36th in the U.S. Pre-K-12 education rankings.

Per pupil funding.

Students are the lifeblood of funding for public schools. Each student brings at least $10,050 to the district they attend. More federal and state funding is dispensed based on student enrollment.

Since 2009, 80% of Michigan’s school districts have experienced enrollment reductions, according to the state.

Detroit and Flint.

Michigan’s largest school district has seen a tremendous drop in enrollment over the last 25 years. The Detroit Public Schools Community District has seen its enrollment drop from 168,213 in 2000 to 48,631 in 2025. That’s significant because the district’s infrastructure was set up to deal with far more students than are currently enrolled. Detroit Public Schools Community District has more empty school buildings (28) than the entire Lansing Public Schools system has in total (27).

Flint Community Schools has seen its enrollment drop from 6,533 in 2015 to 2,605 in 2025.

The state of Michigan projects further declines in the school-aged population. In July, the state reported that from 2025 through 2050, it estimates a 18% decline in the number of people age 5 to 17 in Michigan.