Baldwin Community Schools’ 2024–25 Accounts Payable register

[Shadowninja]

Dearest reader,

Well. This one made me stop.

While going through Baldwin Community Schools' 2024–25 Accounts Payable register, one vendor kept appearing:

Byrum & Fisk Communications.

I counted 14 printed payments.

Total: $208,257.56.

The descriptions include communications consulting, digital advertising, Panther Press, postage, and other communications-related services.

But one payment really caught my attention.

September 24, 2024:
$70,680
"Media - Radio & Digital."

Exactly 42 days later, on November 5, Baldwin Community Schools had a $48.8 million School Safety and Improvement Bond Proposal on the ballot.

Now, before somebody runs screaming into the comments:

I am NOT saying all $208,257.56 was spent on the bond.

I do not have the receipts to say that.

And you know how Lady B feels about saying things the receipts don't prove.

What I do have is an AP register showing $208,257.56 paid to a communications firm during the fiscal year, including a $70,680 radio and digital media payment just six weeks before a bond election.

So I have a very simple question:

How much of the $208,257.56 was connected to communications surrounding the bond proposal?

Maybe the answer is all of it.

Maybe it's some of it.

Maybe very little of it.

The underlying invoices and scope of work should tell us.

Until then, I am not filling in the blank myself.

I bring the receipts.

You decide what they mean. 👑📖

Sources:
Baldwin Community Schools — 2024–25 Accounts Payable Check Register
Baldwin Community Schools — November 5, 2024 School Safety and Improvement Bond Proposal
Byrum & Fisk Communications — public company information

#LadyBudgetdown #BaldwinCommunitySchools #MichiganSchools #SchoolBond #SchoolFinance #PublicMoney #PublicRecords #FollowTheMoney #TheReceipts #WithReceiptsAndRespect