Dearest reader,
Lady B has reached the final stop in the Clarkston Community Schools ledger.
The audit.
Or, more accurately, the latest audit we were able to review.
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Clarkston did not have a 2024-25 audit available in the records provided for this review.
So Lady B went to the most recent one available:
2023-24.
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And this time, there is no dramatic audit finding to report.
The district received an unmodified audit opinion.
No material weaknesses were reported.
No significant deficiencies were reported.
That matters.
Lady B points out problems when the auditors find them. She should be equally willing to tell readers when they do not.
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That does not erase everything else we found while working through Clarkston's books.
Over the decade we reviewed:
Students increased 8.47%.
Teacher FTE decreased 0.34%.
Instructional aide FTE decreased 47.12%.
Central/District Administrator FTE increased 71.72%.
Average teacher salary increased only 5.08%, representing a 22.26% decline after inflation.
The current compensation disclosure showed 35 employees with base salaries of at least $100,000, carrying nearly $8 million in combined total compensation.
And the check register gave us legal expenses, consultants, association dues, travel and lodging, and more than $100,000 in
Apple purchases to examine.
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But none of that changes what the auditors reported.
For 2023-24, Lady B did not find a material weakness or significant deficiency to put in the red-ink column.
And that is precisely why we read the audit instead of assuming what it says.
When Clarkston's 2024-25 audit becomes available, there will be another page of the ledger to read.
Until then, this closes Lady B's five-step review of Clarkston Community Schools.
The receipts are on the table.
Readers may decide for themselves what they think of them.
With receipts and respect. 👑
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