OKEMOS PUBLIC SCHOOLS: NOW LET'S TALK BUDGET
The numbers on a budget tell us what a district plans to do. The audit tells us what actually happened. And in Okemos, the General Fund balance is something I think is worth watching.
Start with the audited numbers:
💰 June 30, 2024
Fund Balance: $10.93 million
15.6% of expenditures
💰 June 30, 2025
Fund Balance: $9.23 million
12.8% of expenditures
So before we even get into projections, the audited General Fund balance had already declined by approximately $1.70 million in one year.
Then we move from audited results into the district's budget estimates and projections.
📊 2025–26 Revised Budget #2 estimate:
$8.23 million — 11.3%
And in April 2026, Okemos modeled its "Most Likely" 2026–27 scenario at:
📉 $6.51 million — 9.0%
If that projection were realized, it would represent a decline of approximately $4.42 million 40.4% from the June 2024 audited General Fund balance.
The district's April outlook also projected a total $1.77 million negative impact on General Fund balance for 2026–27.
That projection included approximately $2.40 million in increased expenditures/decreased revenue, partially offset by approximately $2.17 million in savings and additional revenue.
But there is an important line between the numbers here.
The $6.51 million and $1.77 million figures were projections. They were not audited results.
On June 30, the Board ultimately adopted $71.30 million in General Fund appropriations for 2026–27.
So I'm not calling a projected fund balance an actual fund balance.
And I'm not calling a budget an audit.
Those receipts don't exist yet.
What we do know is that the audited General Fund balance declined from $10.93 million to $9.23 million, and the district's subsequent budget planning anticipated further pressure on those reserves.
That makes this one worth keeping in the ledger. Because budgets are plans. The audit will tell us what actually happened.
📜 The Okemos ledger stays open.
Sources: Okemos Public Schools audited financial information; April 27, 2026 Budget Development Presentation; June 30, 2026 Board budget adoption records.