Dearest reader,
We have reached the final stop in Reed City Area Public Schools: the financial condition of the district.
And this ledger needs a little context.
Reed City ended 2024-25 with:
General Fund balance: $5,402,962
Fund balance ratio: 24.95%
Deficit: $59,069
That is a healthy reserve, and the actual result was $80,025 better than the district's final amended budget anticipated.
But the next two budgets show that reserve being used.
2025-26 projected:
Deficit: $879,880
Ending fund balance: $4,523,082
Fund balance ratio: 20.87%
2026-27 original budget:
Deficit: $158,721
Ending fund balance: $4,364,361
Fund balance ratio: 20.37%
If those budgets play out as written, Reed City will use approximately $1.04 million of General Fund balance over two years — a 19.21% reduction.
Still above 20%.
So no, Lady B is not sounding the financial alarm bells.
But she is watching the direction of the arrow.
There are also some interesting shifts underneath those totals.
From 2024-25 actual spending to the 2026-27 original budget:
Instructional Staff Support: +60.90%
Added Needs: +34.41%
Pupil Support: +13.82%
Meanwhile:
Operations & Maintenance: −22.60%
Transportation: −45.11%
Central Support: −8.67%
The transportation number comes with important context: Reed City ended its outsourced transportation arrangement and changed how those services were handled, so that percentage should not be read in isolation.
The 2024-25 audit also came back with an unmodified opinion.
There was, however, one breadcrumb in the auditor's management letter.
Reed City's Food Service Fund ended the year with a $622,468 fund balance — more than MDE's allowable three months of operating expenditures.
The auditor recommended a spend-down plan, with the excess to be spent by June 30, 2026.
That is not the same thing as saying Reed City's General Fund is in trouble.
Quite the opposite: the district entered this period with a substantial General Fund reserve.
The question going forward is much simpler:
If you are going to use more than $1 million of that reserve over two budget years, what are you buying with it — and is that use sustainable?
That is a question for the next ledger.
With receipts and respect.
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