Grand Rapids Public Schools employs one administrative position for roughly every five teachers in the district.
GRPS employs 13 executive administrators, 92 school-based administrators, and 1,090 teachers, per a district spokesperson. There are another 105 professional and administrative employees who work in the district office on Franklin Street, including roles such as coordinators, Human Resource employees, secretaries, managers, specialists, and directors.
As the district continues consolidating schools as part of its Reimagine GRPS with Us! plan, and both parents and school board candidates call for improving teacher pay, parents and candidates alike have turned their attention to the number of administrators in the district.
Salaries and benefits make up 78% of the district’s $281 million 2026-27 budget. This year’s budget cuts were primarily to administrative roles, including eliminating a cabinet position, the Office of the Ombuds, and nonspecified reductions in district schools.
The district’s ratio of teachers to administrative positions is on the lower end among Kent County public schools. Districts must submit annual financial disclosures to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, which are publicly available online.
How districts record non-teaching staff is not standardized across these disclosures. For example, secretarial staff working in a district’s main office can be lumped in with human resources directors and other professional roles. Other districts record these positions with custodial or transportation staff. Others consider this its own category.
Both GRPS’s public filings and the figures provided by the spokesperson suggest a ratio of about five teachers to every one administrative employee.
GRPS recorded 1,028 teachers in its November 2025 filing and 223 “exempt” personnel, meaning employees who are not entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. These are salaried employees who are employed as professional or administrative staff.
East Grand Rapids Public Schools reported employing 13 administrators and 181 teachers, a ratio of about 14 teachers to each administrative role. The district also lists 45 non-bargaining positions under the category of “Other,” suggesting that there are additional professional roles not recorded under the administrative category.
Likewise, Forest Hills Public Schools listed 577 teachers and 44 administrators in its district, a ratio of 13 teachers per administrator in its 2025 filings. A representative from the district’s Human Resources department said the district currently employs 526 teachers and 81 administrative and professional staff, about six teachers per non-teaching, professional role.
In its November 2025 filings, Kentwood Public Schools reported 688 teachers on staff and 57 administrators.
Wyoming Public Schools listed two administrators, 21 principals/supervisors, seven directors and 250 teachers. This results in a ratio of eight teachers to every one administrative position. Kenowa Hills Public Schools reported roughly the same ratio, with 196 teachers on staff and 24 administrative personnel.
Northview Public Schools recorded 20 administrators and 204 teachers in its November 2025 disclosure. Godfrey-Lee Public Schools reported 13 administrators, six staff in its central office and 124 teachers, about seven teachers per one administrative position. Godwin Heights Public Schools listed 13 administrators and 127 teachers in the district.
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