Well, dear readers, Lady Budgetdown has reached the audits and budgets, and this time I promised myself I would keep the rabbit hole narrow.
Mostly. 🪶
Because River Rouge has a rather interesting three-year story.
In 2022–23, the auditors' management letter identified several financial-control and compliance matters: an ESSER II grant budget issue requiring amendment, a $26,710 Student Activities Fund deficit, untimely athletic deposits, and documentation concerns involving payroll, disbursements and credit cards.
Then came 2023–24.
And what a year it was.
River Rouge reported approximately:
Revenue: $57.41 million
Expenditures: $48.33 million
Operating surplus: $9.08 million
But sitting behind that enormous surplus was an enormous temporary source of money.
Federal revenue reached approximately $16.47 million.
And River Rouge reported approximately $9.64 million in ESSER III Formula expenditures that year.
Then the federal tide began going out.
For 2024–25, River Rouge's original General Fund budget projected:
Revenue: $46.92 million
Expenditures: $46.30 million
Surplus: $618,590
And federal revenue?
Just $4.49 million.
That is roughly a $12 million drop from the prior year's actual federal revenue.
Now, that does not mean River Rouge was suddenly in financial trouble. In fact, the district states that it has not incurred a deficit.
But it does mean that the $9.08 million surplus of 2023–24 deserves some context.
That was not an ordinary year.
It was a year awash in temporary federal dollars.
And so Lady Budgetdown is leaving this particular ledger open with one very simple question:
What did River Rouge's finances look like once the temporary federal money disappeared?
Sometimes the most interesting part of a budget isn't the year the money arrives.
It's what happens after it leaves. 🧐🪶
With receipts & respect.
#LadyBudgetdown #RiverRouge #RiverRougeCommunitySchools #MichiganSchools #SchoolFinance #SchoolBudget #ESSER #FederalFunding #SchoolTransparency #FollowTheMoney #WithReceiptsAndRespect