LADY BUDGETDOWN | NOVI: A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES
The deeper I go into Novi Community School District's finances, the less interested I am in assigning labels, and the more interested I am in asking questions.
Because this is not simply a story about a projected deficit. It is a story about governance, oversight and priorities.
Novi's FY2024-25 General Fund was nearly balanced:
Revenue: approximately $104.08 million
Expenditures: approximately $104.25 million
The FY2025-26 budget then projected:
Revenue: approximately $106.10 million
Expenditures: approximately $109.84 million
That is a projected operating gap of approximately $3.73 million.
Meanwhile, School Administration spending went from approximately $5.35 million in FY2024-25 actual spending to $6.74 million in the FY2025-26 budget, an increase of roughly 26%. Personnel accounts for approximately 85.9% of General Fund expenditures.
And now Novi is looking for personnel savings. The district has begun consolidating some administrative functions.
Eligible veteran educators are being offered $60,000 through a Voluntary Separation Program to resign or retire.
And we are now hearing concerns about additional changes affecting educator and student-facing positions, something Lady Budgetdown is still verifying before reporting further.
So rather than tell you what conclusion to reach, I have some questions.
📜 At what point did the Board recognize that Novi's recurring expenditure structure was becoming unsustainable?
And once it recognized the problem:
What did it do about it?
When expenditures began approaching or exceeding recurring revenues, what priorities did the Board establish?
Did the Board examine central-office administration before looking for savings elsewhere?
Did it ask whether every administrative layer was necessary?
Did it require measurable outcomes from administrative positions?
Did it compare Novi's district-level administrative staffing with similarly sized districts?
Did it examine the growth of executive and administrative compensation?
Did it model whether those recurring personnel costs would remain affordable under realistic future revenues?
And perhaps most importantly:
Why are some of the corrective measures now reaching veteran educators?
Those aren't accusations. They're governance questions. Because there is another distinction that matters here.
School Board members are volunteers, but they are not spectators.
They sought public office and were elected to govern a public school district responsible for more than 6,000 students and a General Fund exceeding $100 million.
The Superintendent administers the district.
The Board governs it.
The Board adopts budgets.
The Board exercises oversight.
The Board approves major executive compensation decisions.
And the Board ultimately establishes the financial priorities under which the district operates.
That doesn't mean every financial challenge is the Board's fault. State funding matters. Inflation matters. Labor costs matter. Enrollment matters. Unexpected expenses matter.
But those realities don't eliminate the responsibility to ask whether local spending decisions were necessary, affordable and sustainable.
So this time, Lady Budgetdown isn't going to pull every Board vote and tell you what to think.
I want you to look.
Look at the budgets.
Look at the Board minutes.
Look at the votes.
Look at the administrative changes.
Look at the compensation decisions.
Then come back here and tell me:
At what point did Novi's Board recognize the problem?
What did it prioritize when it did?
And knowing what we know today, would you have made the same choices?
The ledger is open.
This time, I want the community helping read it.
👑 With receipts and respect.
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