BIRMINGHAM, Mich. – In June, Birmingham Public Schools adopted a budget that had an estimated $1.58 million shortfall -- now they’re saying it’s actually a $14 million shortfall. That has implications for people’s property taxes.
At the end of February, the superintendent sent out a message explaining how the $11 million discrepancies were found as they were working on the mid-year budget amendment.
In that letter, superintendent Dr. Embekka Roberson cited three main factors that caused the miscalculations. The first was underestimations of salary and retirement calculations for the 2021-22 school year. The second was an overestimation of student enrollment. The third was an over-levying of property taxes, which will result in credit to tax payers.
Roberson shared what the district is doing moving forward. In January, the district brought on a CPA and retired Assistant Superintendent of Finance to preform a thorough review and work with their auditors.
“Already, we have made significant strides toward mitigating the impact of this new budget reality for the current fiscal year through the utilization of one-time federal grants. In addition, we conducted an in-depth line-by-line review of current budget dollars. Therefore, the mid-year budget amendment will require the use of approximately $3 to $4 million of our $20 million fund balance, pending board approval,” Roberson said.
View that letter here:
The mid-year amendment budget numbers were presented to the school board on March 1. After that, the superintendent sent out another message to parents.
View that letter here:
The Birmingham Educational Association released the following statement:
The next public school board meeting is set for March 15.
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