MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – A trustee has called for an investigation after a massive budget shortfall in a Macomb County school district.
L’Anse Creuse Public Schools has a budget shortfall of $9 million.
Superintendent Keith Howell says the shortfall was due to multiple factors, but one district trustee says the answer wasn’t good enough.
Local 4 has been listening to both sides of the issue, as a lot of money is at stake.
“My first concern is that we should’ve known that we were in a different financial position than what we were in,” said trustee Shane Sellers.
The L’Anse Cruise Public School District’s deficit, which was supposed to be about $3 million, is now estimated to be closer to between $6 million and $9 million.
Sellers now wants a forensic audit of the district’s finances and investigators to examine them more closely.
“This budget is only good through June 30, so somehow, we have to come up with something between now and June 30 and then a whole nother new budget next year. My concern is not just this year, it’s next year because this budget is going to carry over to next year,” Sellers said.
Howell, who joined the district in October, said multiple factors, including a decline in student enrollment and state funding, led to the estimation change.
“There’s a variety of assumptions that were made in June that create that budget and why they felt the number was where it was at. Those are some of the reasons why the budget went up as well. And then also grant funding. We were losing a lot of COVID-19 relief dollars that a lot of districts across the state of Michigan were going through that same situation,” Howell said.
After hearing that explanation, Sellers sent a letter directly to Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido, saying the superintendent’s reasoning for the multi-million dollar deficit doesn’t make sense.
“When I asked the superintendent, he said that he knew since October. But didn’t inform the board until February,” Sellers said.
The letter also questioned how some administrators knew about the financial shortcomings before others.
Sellers realize that former superintendent Eric Edoff originally made the budget but points the finger at superintendent Howell for allegedly keeping that information to himself for so long.
“I don’t blame him for why we’re in this position that we’re in, in terms of the financial deficit. He inherited this budget. He didn’t present this budget. He didn’t come up with any of the assumptions that were made in this budget. What I have a problem with is that it was concealed from the board,” Sellers said.,
The school board meeting, which was scheduled for Monday (Feb. 24) at 6 p.m., will address many questions and concerns.
