Dearest reader,
Fraser Public Schools has now reached the budgets-and-audits portion of the ledger.
And this one is not an audit scandal.
In fact, Fraser's audits for 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24 and 2024–25 were clean / unmodified.
That matters.
But the budgets tell a different kind of story.
Fraser's original General Fund budgets projected:
2023–24: $771,142 deficit
2024–25: $2.92 million deficit
2025–26: $3.86 million deficit
2026–27: $3.57 million deficit
Yet the actual results available for the earlier years were materially stronger:
2021–22: +$1.44 million
2022–23: +$3.20 million
2023–24: +$2.15 million
And the 2024–25 audit ended with roughly $14.1 million in fund balance.
So the question is not whether Fraser's audits are clean.
They are.
The question is the budgeting pattern.
Why do the original budgets continue to project sizeable deficits and fund-balance draws when actual year-end results have repeatedly come in stronger?
There may be perfectly reasonable explanations: conservative budgeting, vacancies, delayed spending, changing state aid, grants, or expenses that simply did not materialize as expected.
But when public budgets repeatedly forecast millions in deficits, while actual results finish much better, that pattern is worth showing residents clearly.
No accusation.
No dramatic conclusion.
Just the budget.
Just the audit.
Just the question.
With receipts and respect.
#LadyBudgetdown #WithReceiptsAndRespect #FraserPublicSchools #SchoolFinance #SchoolBudget #PublicSchools #MichiganSchools #Transparency #Accountability #PublicMoney #BudgetTransparency #TheLedger