Dearest reader... the ledger has made its way to Rochester. 🪶
Teachers, paraprofessionals and other entities around metros Detroit have been negotiating a new contracts, so your Lady was asked the same simple question:
Can Rochester afford an increase?
I shall not answer that question for you. But I will happily provide the receipts.
Rochester ended 2024–25 with an audited General Fund balance of $48.31 million, 20.90% of expenditures.
The district's own fund-balance target? 10%.
Even after projecting the balance to decline over the next two years, RCS projects 19.46% for 2025–26 and 16.85% for 2026–27.
Meanwhile, over the last decade, student count declined just 1.5%.
Teacher FTE declined 7.3%.
Paras remained essentially flat, up 0.9%.
Central/LEA administrator FTE increased 158.9%.
School administrator FTE declined 30%.
And there is one receipt your Lady found particularly interesting. 👀
For 2024–25, the district budgeted for its fund balance to fall by $5.07 million.
The audit ultimately showed it increased by $298,070 instead.
A favorable swing of approximately $5.37 million.
Which is precisely why we keep saying: budgets are projections. Audits tell us where the carriage actually landed.
So I shall close the ledger right there.
Can Rochester afford an increase?
Dearest reader, you decide. 🪶
With receipts and respect,
Lady Budgetdown
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