Every educator knows the feeling of the “slow erosion.” It isn’t usually a single dramatic crisis that disrupts your day; it’s the constant friction of empty desks, excess spreadsheets, too much tech, and kids coming late to class.
School leaders are constantly putting out fires. So we recently attended three key industry trade shows to gather data on the biggest challenges. At each show, we invited hundreds of educators to take part in an interactive engagement wall, using nothing more than three stickers to share their honest perspectives.
We asked three questions:
- How well does your existing school technology foster student connection and engagement?
- What is the biggest student behavior challenge at your school?
- How do you currently manage behaviors at your school?
What did we learn?*
- 82% of school leaders feel that their school doesn’t use technology effectively to build connection and engagement.
- 1,102 school leaders reported attendance and tardies as their biggest challenges, followed by cell phone use and vaping.
- Although some school leaders have embraced software to support their vision, many schools still rely on cumbersome spreadsheets to manage student behavior. In fact, 64% of leaders are seeking more unified, effective technology to run their schools.
*Data is based on a sample set of 1,854 school leaders from July 2025 to March 2026.
What does this mean?
The vast majority of administrators are still using manual tools that waste time. For example, enforcing tardy policies is already difficult. On top of that, many schools still record tardies on spreadsheets, making it impossible to notify parents and counselors in real time. For a student, a spreadsheet is invisible; there is no immediate referral or accountability.
Unmanaged tardiness can lead to chronic absenteeism, which directly impacts the bottom line. This is particularly costly for Michigan schools striving to meet ambitious attendance goals. Financial losses can escalate significantly from a single desk to the entire district due to Michigan’s strict funding rules that are tied to attendance metrics.
Here are the financial stakes for a typical Michigan school and district:
The Financial Loss Per School
For a single school building, 10 students failing to meet attendance goals or missing Count Day creates a six-figure hole in the operational budget.
- Foundation Allowance Loss: If 10 students are absent on Count Day and don’t return within the allotted window, they’ll be lost from countable membership or disenrolled. With the 2025-2026 allowance at $10,050 per pupil, losing just 10 students equates to $100,500 in lost revenue.
- The Double Loss (At-Risk Funding): This is where the loss hits the students who need support the most. Michigan calculates Section 31a funding based on enrollment of economically disadvantaged pupils, so losing an eligible student means losing the $10,050 base plus $1,618 to $2,161 in supplemental funding. For 10 students, this figure can jump to $122,110.
The Financial Loss Per District
When these patterns repeat across multiple buildings, manually managing tardies and attendance becomes a million-dollar problem for the district office.
- The 75% Rule Risk: Under Michigan’s “75% Rule,” if a district’s total attendance falls below the 75% threshold on any given day, the state deducts a portion of that day’s adjusted state aid. This penalty grows based on how far the district misses the mark. For example, the MDE illustrates that a district with $10.8 million in annual state aid, with attendance falling to 68%, would lose roughly $5,600 on that single day. Without real-time visibility, you might not realize your district is at 72% attendance until the day is over, meaning the $5,600 (or more) is already gone.
- The Cumulative Hit: If a district struggles with chronic attendance issues and falls below the 75% threshold for just 10 days out of the school year, they face a $56,000 penalty.
- The District Multiplier: In a mid-sized Michigan district, if each school (e.g., two high schools and four middle schools) loses 10 students to chronic absenteeism or disenrollment, the district faces a $603,000 budget shortfall.
Where do we go from here?
Underperforming spreadsheets are no longer sustainable; educators are ready to trade administrative chaos for a clear, connected, and automated way to manage attendance and protect their school’s resources. To reclaim instructional time and restore calm, schools must automate attendance-taking and high-frequency disruptions such as tardy slips. Moving forward requires replacing tools like spreadsheets and paper slips with software that simplifies and automates record-keeping. By removing paperwork, leadership can shift its focus from punitive “catch-up” discipline to proactive mentorship and community building. The goal is to move technology into the heart of school life, ensuring every student feels seen, accountable, and connected to a culture of belonging.
For more information about how software can empower schools to thrive, visit minga.io.