Lady Budgetdown has been back in the Saginaw ISD check registers.
And apparently, the legal ledger has been rather busy. 🪶📜
From January 1, 2025 through the most recent register available, April 10, 2026, I found:
⚖️ $105,706.25 paid to law firms.
But, dear readers, the grand total was not actually what made me adjust my spectacles.
It was the descriptions.
The Allen Law Group received $16,857.50 for what SISD's own registers describe as a "CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE INVESTIGATION."
Miller Johnson received $2,778.75 across three entries carrying the wonderfully informative description:
"OUR STORY."
Naturally, the ledger would very much enjoy hearing that story.
And then we arrive at Yeo & Yeo.
A $29,150 payment appears in the November register with the description:
"LEGAL THROUGH OCT 2025 (AUDIT ENDING 6/30/25, INCLUDING GASB 101 IMPLEMENTATION)"
Now, spectacles firmly in place here: I did not include that $29,150 in the $105,706.25 legal total. SISD coded it to audit/accounting services, not its legal-services account.
But when the district itself puts "LEGAL" in a $29,150 check-register description, Lady Budgetdown is certainly going to put a little ribbon beside it. 🎀
None of these descriptions, standing alone, establish anything improper.
They do, however, leave some rather obvious questions.
What was the confidential employee investigation?
What exactly was "OUR STORY"?
And what does "LEGAL THROUGH OCT 2025" mean on a $29,150 payment to the district's auditing firm?
I don't need to invent answers.
The ledger has already given us perfectly good questions.
With receipts and respect. 🪶
#SaginawISD #SaginawCounty #SchoolFinance #TaxpayerTransparency #FollowTheMoney #LadyBudgetdown