Redford Union CFO flags tight fund equity, ledger cleanup and bond spending; board presses for accountability

Redford Union Schools District No. 1 interim CFO Maria Kissinger gave a detailed budget briefing at the board's Dec. 16 workshop, warning that the district's finances require close attention as the board prepares to vote on an amended budget in January.

Kissinger said the district's projected revenue is essentially in line with earlier estimates but that enrollment is down from the projection used in the adopted budget: projected enrollment was 2,379 students but current enrollment reported to the board was 2,322, a decline of 57 pupils. She reported the district's fund equity at 5.57% (the projected figure had been 5.95%) and said the state fiscal school accountability agency had already asked for documentation because nearing the 5% threshold triggers additional reporting and oversight. "They pulled it off your website," she said of the state agency's monitoring, and urged the board to take remedial steps now.

Kissinger described a shift from salaries to contracted services after outsourcing finance functions and because the district was unable to hire expected paraprofessionals. She said contracted services rose while salary and benefits fell by roughly $1 million on paper; paraprofessional outsourcing was increased in her figures from a budgeted $225,000 to approximately $800,000. She also noted operations and building maintenance costs required larger allocations than anticipated.

On special programs, Kissinger said Act 18 (center program) reimbursements run two years behind and that prior misestimates had produced multi‑year reconciliation issues. She said the district had incurred unreimbursed costs that will affect this year's funding streams.

The bond program and spending prompted sharp board questioning. Kissinger reviewed the 2025 bond accounting: she said the district has projected $9,200,000 (identified in her presentation) available for 2025 bond capital projects and that in 2024–25 the district spent roughly $3.56 million from the newly sold bond. Several board members expressed frustration and alarm at apparent discrepancies between prior board presentations and where money actually came from, with multiple members saying they felt misled. "We were lied to," one board member said during the discussion. Kissinger and other administrators responded that some issues stemmed from poor bookkeeping and legacy errors rather than intentional deception: "I don't think they knew," she said referring to earlier staff who prepared budgets.

Board members pressed for clearer, auditable reporting going forward. The CFO said she has been cleaning the general ledger, will provide quarterly updates and will present an amended budget for board action in January. She recommended continuing tighter capital project controls, reining in nonessential spending and considering demolition of unused buildings to reduce operating costs.

No formal budget amendments were voted at the workshop; the board scheduled action on an amended budget for the January regular meeting.