Kansas school employment declined for the current school year, and ratios of employees to pupils rose.
Figures released by the Kansas State Department of Education show the number of teachers and certified employees declined for the 2015-2016 school year.
The number of Pre K through grade 12 teachers fell to 30,413 from 30,868, a decline of 1.48 percent. Certified employees fell to 41,405 from 41,975, or by 1.36 percent.
Enrollment fell too, from 464,395 to 463,504, or 0.19 percent. As a result, the ratios of teachers to students and certified employees to students rose. The pupil-teacher ratio rose from 15.04 pupils per teacher to 15.24. For a school with 1,000 students, this change would be caused by the loss of one teacher.
The relative change in enrollment and employment is not the same in every district. The Kansas City school district saw its pupil-teacher ratio continue to decline, although the certified employee-pupil ratio rose slightly.
Of note, Kansas school fund balances rose slightly this year, both in absolute dollars and dollars per pupil.
I’ve gathered the numbers from KSDE and present them in an interactive visualization. Click here to access it.
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