Northville Public Schools projects $3.7 million shortfall in 2025-26 initial budget

Northville Public Schools business officials presented the district's initial 2025-26 budget projection Wednesday, saying the draft shows about $99.1 million in revenue, $102.8 million in expenditures and an estimated $3.7 million deficit that would reduce the district's fund balance to the high-20s percentage range.

The presentation, led by Devin, a district finance staff member, walked the board through millage, state aid assumptions, federal grant expirations and expense changes. "So tonight, we're going to go over the 25%, 26% initial budget," Devin said at the start of the presentation.

The district's finance staff described several drivers of the projected gap: the loss of one-time state funding that supported recent budgets, an expected decline in federal ESSER pandemic funds, and reductions tied to Michigan's Headlee rollback mechanism. Staff told trustees the budget uses the governor's proposed per-pupil increase of $392 as a planning assumption but cautioned the state budget had not been finalized.

Why it matters: the board must adopt an initial budget before July 1 but will have two later opportunities (first amendment and final amendment) to adjust figures once state revenue and contract outcomes are known. The finance presentation…