According to data released in December from the National Center for Education Statistics, public schools added 118,000 employees last year even as they served 135,000 fewer students.
You may have heard this story before. In fact, I wrote a nearly identical sentence around this time last year.
But enrollment keeps falling as staffing levels rise. Since 2018-19, the last year before the pandemic, student enrollment is down 1.4 million (a 2.8% decrease) while employment is up by 479,000 (a gain of 7.3%).
Part of the staffing gains comes as the result of schools adding 90,000 teacher jobs. Combined with declining enrollment numbers, that has allowed most states and districts to effectively lower their teacher-to-student ratios.