MN principal growth 10x greater than teacher growth [Updated]

My previous post on ballooning district administrative growth nationwide led many to ask about Minnesota-specific numbers. While school district administrative growth in the state has not mirrored that across the nation, principal/assistant principal growth (a separate category) in the state is nearly 10 times greater than teacher growth between 2000 and 2019, according to Minnesota data from the National Center for Education Statistics compiled by American Experiment.

The number of principals and assistant principals on K-12 public school staff increased nearly 40 percent (39.6 percent) from fall 2000 to fall 2019 compared to 4 percent growth in teachers over the same time period. The principal/assistant principal growth is a bit of a head-scratcher for me given the low teacher growth. Perhaps the growth is primarily due to more assistant principals being added to schools. I welcome thoughts on a potential “why” factor.

Instructional aides have grown by nearly 36 percent, guidance counselors have grown by nearly 38 percent, and student support staff has grown by over 135 percent. This includes nurses, social workers, psychologists, speech therapists, etc.

Student mental health concerns have been at the forefront of education-related conversations recently, with numerous studies associating school closures with adverse mental health symptoms.

Update: I was asked to calculate student growth over the same period and found it aligns with teacher growth, at 4.5 percent.