Dearest reader,
We have reached the final page of the Gaylord Community Schools ledger.
And this one is about where the General Fund is headed.
Gaylord finished 2024–25 with:
• $40.19 million in revenue
• $39.78 million in expenditures
• A $414,647 surplus
• An $8.60 million ending fund balance
That fund balance represented 21.63% of General Fund expenditures.
Not a bad place to start.
But then the direction changes.
For 2025–26, the amended budget projects a $1.51 million deficit, reducing fund balance to $7.10 million.
For 2026–27, the district budgets another $900,447 deficit, reducing it again to $6.13 million.
Put the two years together and Gaylord is projecting the use of approximately $2.47 million of the fund balance it had at the end of 2024–25.
That is a 28.75% reduction.
The fund-balance ratio moves with it:
21.63% → 16.90% → 14.96%.
And there are some interesting changes underneath those totals.
From 2024–25 actual spending to the 2026–27 budget:
• Basic Program: −1.95%
• Business Support: +11.11%
• Central Support: +12.17%
• Operations & Maintenance: +20.59%
That does not mean Gaylord is broke.
It does not mean every increase is unnecessary.
And a budget is a plan — not a final check register.
But two consecutive planned deficits deserve context.
Why is the district drawing down approximately $2.47 million of fund balance?
Is the spending temporary?
Are these intentional investments that will disappear?
Or is this becoming the district's new operating level?
Those are the questions the numbers leave on my ledger.
One more thing: I could not locate Gaylord's 2024–25 independent audit on the district transparency page, and it was not included in the materials I reviewed. So I cannot tell you whether auditors reported findings, deficiencies, compliance issues — or none at all.
I won't fill in a missing receipt with an assumption.
And with that, Gaylord's ledger is closed... for now. 👑
With receipts and respect.
#LadyBudgetdown #GaylordCommunitySchools #GaylordSchools #MichiganSchools #SchoolFinance #SchoolBudget #FundBalance #EducationFunding #SchoolTransparency #TaxpayerDollars #PublicEducation #WithReceiptsAndRespect