ARMADA AREA SCHOOLS: FOUR YEARS IN THE LEDGER 👑📜
And now we arrive at Armada's audits.
Lady Budgetdown went back to 2021-22 and followed the General Fund forward, year by year.
For three years, the direction was pretty consistent:
2021-22: +$391,252
2022-23: +$408,366
2023-24: +$811,936
By June 30, 2024, Armada's General Fund balance had grown to $3,546,788.
Then came 2024-25.
Revenue: $24,479,777
Expenditures: $26,369,298
After transfers and other financing activity, the General Fund declined by $1,802,476.
Ending fund balance:
$1,744,312.
In one year, Armada's General Fund balance fell 50.8%.
And here's the part that made Lady Budgetdown circle the number in the ledger:
The district's own audit says Armada was operating under a "minimal needs spending status" for most of the school year.
So I don't think we need to manufacture a scandal or wander through twenty rabbit holes here.
The receipts are interesting enough on their own.
Armada spent three consecutive years adding approximately $1.61 million to its General Fund.
Then one fiscal year erased those three years of gains — and more.
That doesn't tell us that every expenditure was unnecessary. It doesn't tell us that anyone did anything improper.
But when a district loses roughly half of its General Fund balance in a single year while already describing itself as operating under minimal-needs spending, that is absolutely something worth watching.
Especially when we place this receipt beside the others we've already examined.
The ledger doesn't need embellishment.
Sometimes you just put four years next to each other and let the numbers do the talking. 👑
With receipts & respect,
Lady Budgetdown