👑 BIRMINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS: A $7,500 QUESTION
Dearest gentle taxpayers,
Sometimes the records provide an answer. Sometimes they leave a rather interesting question.
Lady Budgetdown reviewed the First Amendment to Superintendent Embekka Roberson's employment contract. One provision offers a $7,500 merit payment if Birmingham Public Schools' final 2024–25 audit confirms a General Fund Balance of 11% or more.
So, naturally, I went to the final audit.
For 2024–25, Birmingham reported:
📜 Ending General Fund Balance: $16,224,706
📜 General Fund Expenditures: $152,162,764
📜 General Fund Revenue: $147,519,565
📜 Decrease in Fund Balance: $2,131,707
And here is where things become interesting.
Using expenditures:
$16,224,706 ÷ $152,162,764 = approximately 10.66%
Using revenue:
$16,224,706 ÷ $147,519,565 = approximately 11.00%
Same audited fund balance.
Two different percentages.
And the contract provision itself simply says "General Fund Balance of 11% or more."
I searched publicly available payroll information and Birmingham Board of Education records looking for an answer, but I have not found a public record that clearly establishes whether this particular $7,500 payment was made.
So Lady Budgetdown isn't going to pretend to know something the records haven't yet told us.
Instead, I'll simply ask:
Did the superintendent qualify for the $7,500 fund-balance merit payment for 2024–25?
And, if so:
How did Birmingham Public Schools calculate the 11% required under the contract?
Perhaps there is a perfectly straightforward answer.
Until then, it remains a $7,500 question.
Facts should never tell people what to think. They should give people enough information to think for themselves.
With receipts and respect. 👑
Data compiled and visualized by Lady Budgetdown using publicly available records.
#BirminghamPublicSchools #BirminghamMI #SchoolFinance #PublicSchools #Transparency #Accountability #LadyBudgetdown