Birmingham Public Schools sees $11m budget gap, multiple factors say caused miscalculations

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. – In June, Birmingham Public Schools passed a budget that was estimated to have a deficit of $1.58 million — now they say it’s actually a deficit of $14 million. It affects people’s property taxes.

In late February, the superintendent sent a message explaining how the $11 million discrepancies had been discovered while working on the mid-year budget amendment.

In that letter, Superintendent Dr. Embekka Roberson cited three main factors behind the miscalculations. The first was the understatement of salary and pension calculations for the 2021-22 school year. The second was an overstatement of student enrollment. The third was an overtaxation of property taxes, which will result in a credit to taxpayers.

Roberson shared what the district is doing to move forward. In January, the district hired a retired CPA and assistant superintendent of finance to conduct a thorough review and work with their auditors.

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“Already, we have made significant progress in mitigating the impact of this new fiscal reality for the current fiscal year through the use of one-time federal grants. In addition, we have conducted a thorough, line-by-line review of the current budget amounts. Therefore, the mid-year budget amendment will require the use of approximately $3-4 million of our $20 million fund balance, pending board approval,” Roberson said. .

See this letter here:

Mid-year amendment budget figures were presented to the school board on March 1. After that, the superintendent sent another message to the parents.

See this letter here:

The Birmingham Educational Association released the following statement:

The next public school board meeting is scheduled for March 15.

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