Publication select ▼EASTPOINTE — By law, Michigan school districts must pass their annual budgets by June 30 for the upcoming school year, but there are always changes in finances throughout the year due to a number of factors.
At the Feb. 23 Eastpointe Community Schools Board of Education meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Jon Dean presented a general fund budget amendment for the 2025-26 school year.
“You don’t have to have an amendment by law,” Dean told the school board. “It’s really just an update to you about where we’re going to where we thought we were going to be, to where we are now and where we think we’ll be at the end of June 30.”
The school board voted 6-0 to adopt the final budget amendment No. 1. Board President Chineva Early was absent.
Dean has been working with the district’s central administration and principals to look at the district’s current budget.
“Things have happened since you passed the budget (in June). We now know our enrollment. We reached new collective bargaining agreements with our employees. We’ve staffed the district,” Dean said. “So, understandably, things changed.”
A budget amendment serves several purposes. It provides the school board and community with an update regarding the district’s financial status. It also allows for the administration to update the current budget to more accurately reflect the district’s revenues and expenses. Having a budget amendment also helps with the budget development process for the next school year.
Dean’s presentation showed that the 2024-25 actual budget had $39.9 million in revenues while expenditures were $38.5 million. The ending fund balance was $17.4 million.
Revenue is money the district receives and includes local, state and federal dollars, grants, and other sources. Expenditures are the district’s expenses and includes employee salaries and benefits; central, athletic and community services; pupil transportation; and operations and maintenance costs.
A fund balance works like a savings account and can be used for emergencies, including loss in enrollment during the school year, or for an unexpected capital project, such as a roof replacement.
In June 2025, the board adopted a budget for the 2025-26 school year with revenues at $37.78 million and expenditures at $41.05 million, according to Dean’s presentation.
“You planned to have an operating deficit for the year. That’s not bad as long as you planned for it, which you did,” Dean said. “You knew that you were going to spend more money on your employees and supporting our kids. That’s not a bad thing.”
In the amended 2025-26 budget, it appears that the district’s beginning fund balance was $18.2 million, although the ending fund balance from last year was $17.4 million. According to Dean, the amount changed after the district was audited.
“We thought the ending fund balance was $17 million and change,” Dean said. “The auditor said no, factually, it was $18.2 million. So, I put the correct number in there. That’s a factual number.”
Dean also addressed revenues and expenses for the year.
“We believe our revenues this year are going to go up by about $1.8 million more than we planned,” Dean said. “We think our expenditures are going to go up by a little over half a million dollars.”
That alters the 2025-26 revenue projection from $37.78 million to $39.63 million, and expenditures from $41.05 million to $41.59 million, according to the presentation. The ending fund balance is projected at $16 million for the 2025-26 school year.
