New data show U.S. public schools added hundreds of thousands of staff over the past decade even as student numbers declined, setting up difficult budget choices as federal relief expires.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

Public school districts across the United States are employing more staff while serving fewer students, a trend that analysts warn is reaching a breaking point as school boards begin planning budgets for the 2026–2027 academic year.

National data indicate that while student enrollment has stagnated or declined in most states, staffing levels have continued to rise. Recent figures, reported by The Epoch Times, show that only 17 percent of roughly 200,000 new positions added over the past decade were classroom teachers. The remaining growth came largely from administrative and non-instructional roles.

The financial implications are mounting as $189.5 billion in federal post-pandemic relief funds—much of which supported labor costs—have been exhausted. At the same time, state funding tied to enrollment is declining, leaving districts facing choices between layoffs, program cuts, school closures, or higher local property taxes.

Data from the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University, which analyzes National Center for Education Statistics figures, show that between 2015 and 2025, K–12 public school enrollment fell by nearly 900,500 students, or 1.9 percent, while staffing increased by more than 700,000, an 11.8 percent rise, according to the analysis. In more than 80 percent of states, student numbers declined even as the number of teachers increased.

Virginia recorded the largest decade-long gap, with staffing up 18.6 percent alongside a 2 percent enrollment decline. State-level data for the 2024–2025 school year have been released gradually over the past two months, though not all states have reported updated figures.

Growth in teaching staff, however, was modest compared with the expansion of administrative and support positions. The Edunomics Lab found that of the 200,000 jobs added between the 2019–2020 and 2023–2024 school years—many funded by federal aid—only 17 percent were teachers. Eighteen percent were aides, while 65 percent were administrators, coordinators, counselors, interventionists, coaches and other support staff.

Even in states where enrollment rose, the increases were small. The largest gain reported between 2020 and last year was 2 percent in Washington, D.C., followed by Arkansas at 1.2 percent, according to Burbio, which tracks public school data. During the same period, D.C. public schools saw an 18 percent increase in employees, Edunomics data show.

Most other states with enrollment growth—including Utah, Oklahoma, Idaho, Maryland, Florida, Tennessee, Washington state and the Dakotas—also reported staffing increases that outpaced student gains. New Hampshire, Mississippi and Wyoming were among the few states that saw declines in both enrollment and staffing.

At the district level, the five largest school systems—New York City, Los Angeles, Miami-Dade, Chicago and Clark County, Nevada—have all lost students in recent years, according to Edunomics. Miami-Dade was the only one to reduce staffing. Los Angeles Unified showed the starkest contrast through the 2022–2023 academic year, with enrollment down nearly 26 percent while staffing rose 19 percent, according to Burbio.

Despite a projected $1.6 billion deficit, the Los Angeles Unified School District did not lay off employees or close facilities, district budget records show. The district’s current spending plan includes an additional $25 million for its Black Student Achievement Program and $2 million for LGBTQ awareness training, according to its website. The district also operates a middle school magnet program focused on social and gender equity.

“Budgets are a reflection of priorities,” Los Angeles Unified Board of Education member Kelly Gonez said in a June 2025 news release. “Even in difficult budget environments, we must choose to make decisions that protect our students.”

A separate Burbio analysis comparing student–teacher and student–staff ratios in the 25 largest districts found that between the 2019–2020 and 2024–2025 school years, student–teacher ratios declined in 15 districts, while student–staff ratios fell in 17.

Long-term trends suggest the pattern is not new. A recent report from the Reason Foundation found that from 1998 through 2019, districts with declining enrollment increased staffing by 25.5 percent per 100 students and boosted salaries and benefits per employee by roughly 77 percent, the report shows. Growth included both instructional and support positions such as counselors, librarians, administrators and board support staff.

“This has happened because there’s a huge political cost to cutting teachers and staff,” said David Hoyt, executive director of the School Board for Academic Excellence. “But there’s a lot of administrative bloat.”

Hoyt said districts have added administrators, information technology specialists, counselors, aides required by law, and interventionists tasked with identifying struggling students. “Once you hire staff, it’s very hard to ratchet down,” he said.

The Reason Foundation report also found that the largest gaps between staffing and enrollment occurred in states without right-to-work laws, where union rules can limit flexibility in staffing and pay structures.

As districts look for savings, Burbio found that the most commonly considered cost-cutting measures include closing or consolidating school buildings, reducing staff, cutting elective courses, trimming administrative spending, and consolidating transportation services, according to its analysis. Edunomics researchers have suggested alternatives such as consolidating sports teams, merging classrooms temporarily during substitute shortages, and using volunteers for libraries and athletics.

Administrative requirements imposed by state and federal regulations have also contributed to staffing growth, said Shaka Mitchell, a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children. Mitchell said compliance demands often require dedicated personnel even in small districts, adding that ineffective tenured teachers are sometimes reassigned into administrative roles.

“A lot of those added costs are things that don’t add value to what’s happening in the classroom,” Mitchell said.

Rising staffing costs often translate into higher property taxes. Local governments provide about 45 percent of all public K–12 funding, with roughly 80 percent of that coming from property taxes, according to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. When enrollment declines and state funding drops, local tax levies are frequently raised to cover the gap.

In Ohio’s Cuyahoga County, where enrollment has fallen sharply over two decades, homeowner Beth Blackmarr said staffing and taxes continue to rise. Her annual property tax bill has nearly tripled since 2008. “We do feel that good public schools are important,” said Blackmarr, a leader with Citizens for Property Tax Reform. “But we’re carrying an unfair share of the burden.”

Declining birth rates and interstate migration are only part of the enrollment shift. School choice has also played a role. More than 18 percent of U.S. K–12 students now attend charter schools, private schools or are homeschooled, according to EdChoice data, a share expected to grow.

Mitchell said charter and private schools typically operate with leaner administrative structures, a contrast that is drawing increased scrutiny to public school budgets. “Parents notice when money isn’t getting pushed down to the classroom,” he said. “There are going to be some very tough decisions to make.”