Fowlerville Community Schools
Instruction vs. Central Services
A reader's concern about increasing class sizes sent Lady B into Fowlerville's budget, where FY2023-24 actual spending was compared with the district's adopted FY2026-27 budget. Basic Instruction falls about $2.82 million and Total Instruction about $2.18 million, while General Administration and Central Services together rise roughly $720,000. Central Services alone increases from $470,993 to $1.064 million, about 126%, prompting a simple question: what specifically accounts for the increase?
Marysville Public Schools
Administrator vs. Paraprofessional Raises
A reader's breadcrumb about paraprofessional negotiations led Lady B to compare employee raises in Marysville. While paraprofessionals were reportedly being offered a 2.5% increase, administrators received 4.5%, raising questions about how compensation increases are being distributed among the employees serving the district.
Kalamazoo Public Schools
Compensation Priorities
An employee breadcrumb led Lady B into Kalamazoo's budget, contracts and compensation records. The deeper dive found support staff receiving a 2.29% wage increase while Superintendent Darrin Slade's base salary increased 12.15%, from $243,106.68 to $272,640.55, along with a $31,000 retention payment. That single payment was worth more than an entire year's base pay for a highest-step Montessori teaching assistant.
DeWitt Public Schools
Bond Proposal & Borrowing
Lady B followed DeWitt's borrowing beyond the headline bond number, examining the district's proposal alongside its existing and short-term borrowing. The investigation focused on distinguishing routine cash-flow borrowing from long-term bonded debt and giving taxpayers a clearer picture of what the district has borrowed, what voters are being asked to approve, and what those obligations actually mean.
St. Johns Public Schools
Childcare Center
A closer look at St. Johns moved beyond ordinary district spending and into the district's childcare operation. Lady B examined the childcare center, its finances and the role it plays within the district, following the records to better understand what the program costs, how it operates and what taxpayers are supporting.
Hemlock Public School District
Bond Proposal & Existing Debt
Hemlock's November bond proposal led to a much larger examination of the district's existing debt. Lady B traced the 2022 financing showing $41.475 million in principal and roughly $38.96 million in scheduled interest, more than $80.43 million in principal and interest through 2053. Lady B then examined what adding another $17.75 million in borrowing would mean behind the district's "tax neutral" message.
Hemlock Public School District
Non-Resident Enrollment
Lady B also followed Hemlock's enrollment numbers to examine how much of the district's student population comes from outside its boundaries. The investigation looked beyond total enrollment to the role Schools of Choice and non-resident students play in the district's enrollment, funding and longer-term planning.
Saginaw ISD
Special Education Millage
With Saginaw ISD asking county voters to renew special education millage support, Lady B followed the money behind the request. The investigation examined the millage, special education finances, the nearly $10 million transfer identified in district financial records, growth in central special education spending and broader questions about how countywide special education tax dollars are collected and used.
Saginaw ISD
CTE Credential Questions
A records review raised questions about the credentials associated with leadership of Saginaw ISD's Career & Technical Education program. Lady B compared the credentials that could be located with applicable administrative requirements and looked for documentation of any waiver or temporary authorization, treating the issue as a records and transparency question rather than assuming an answer the available documents did not establish.
Bridgeport-Spaulding Community School District
Former Interim Superintendent Credential Questions
Lady B's review of Bridgeport-Spaulding's leadership arrangements raised a separate question about the credentials of a former interim superintendent. The investigation focused on what qualifications were required, what credentials could be verified in available records and what documentation existed to explain the appointment.
Saginaw ISD
Travel Spending
Travel records turned into one of Lady B's larger rabbit holes. After reviewing expenditures across numerous destinations and events, Lady B identified approximately $160,106.41 in travel-related spending within the records reviewed, prompting questions about destinations, purposes, approvals and whether those expenditures represented the best use of public education dollars.
Chippewa Valley Schools
Bond Request & Repeated Borrowing
Chippewa Valley's bond request led Lady B beyond the current ballot proposal and into the district's borrowing history. The investigation looked at the new request alongside previous borrowing to give voters a broader view of how often debt has been issued, what taxpayers are already carrying and how another bond fits into that history.
Van Dyke Public Schools
Macomb County Borrowing
A dive into Michigan Treasury records found Van Dyke repeatedly using short-term State Aid Notes while also issuing long-term capital debt. Lady B identified three State Aid Notes totaling about $25.78 million, alongside approximately $25.915 million in 2025 building and site bonds, opening a larger conversation about the different kinds of borrowing appearing on a district's ledger.
River Rouge School District
Superintendent Compensation
River Rouge's compensation records sent Lady B down a superintendent-pay rabbit hole, examining salary and other compensation against the district's broader financial picture. The goal was not simply to publish a large number, but to show taxpayers what leadership compensation looks like in context and allow them to decide whether the priorities reflected in the ledger make sense.
School Board Spending
Following the Governance Dollars
Not every administrative dollar sits in a superintendent's office. Lady B has also been examining what boards themselves cost taxpayers, including compensation, travel, conferences and other board-related expenditures. Oversight of public spending should include the people responsible for approving that spending.
Statewide
Administrator Raises vs. Teacher & Support Staff Raises
Breadcrumbs from multiple districts have repeatedly raised the same question: when budgets are tight and employee contracts are negotiated, who gets the raise? Lady B has been comparing administrator increases with raises offered to teachers, paraprofessionals and support employees. The point is not to claim every district is the same. It is to put the actual percentages and dollars next to one another and let readers see how compensation priorities differ.
