Flint board adopts final 2024–25 amendment, initial 2025–26 budget and 2025 tax levies; CFO warns of multi‑year drawdown

The Flint School District Board of Education on a date noted in the meeting record approved a final budget amendment for fiscal year 2024–25, adopted an initial budget for 2025–26 and set the district’s 2025 tax levies after a public budget hearing and discussion.

The approvals came after an hour-plus presentation and questions from trustees. Chief Financial Officer Chandra Cleaves summarized the levy limits and the budget changes and described why the district’s fund balance will decline over the next two years.

Cleaves said the millage limits the district may levy for the 2025 tax year (for the period 07/01/2025–06/30/2026) are 17.8596 mills for the operating fund, 1.1703 mills for the sinking fund and 2.82 mills for the debt fund. “This comes directly from Genesee County,” she said while reviewing the levy breakdown and taxable values reported to the county.

On the 2024–25 final amendment, Cleaves told the board the district’s previously estimated revenues of about $84 million and expenditures of about $101 million (a planned draw on the general fund) were revised upward after additional grant awards. The revised figures show roughly $110 million in revenue and $126 million in expenditures, with a smaller draw on the general fund than previously estimated. Cleaves said one‑time construction funding of $7 million contributed to the prior year’s numbers.

For the 2025–26 initial budget she said the district is proposing about $54 million in revenue and $66 million in expenditures, producing a projected reduction in fund balance of about $12.6 million vs. the 2024–25 final projection. Cleaves attributed most of the $56 million drop in revenue from the 2024–25 final to the end of significant grant streams, including ESSER III carryover and a five‑year literacy grant that will not recur this coming year.

Trustees pressed staff on specifics. Board members asked for a dollar accounting of costs related to the closure of Nethercutt and how many students might not be reenrolled there. Cleaves said she had reduced the student headcount in the initial budget by 200 as a planning assumption and showed the arithmetic using the governor’s proposed per‑pupil figure (the presentation used $10,000 as an illustrative per‑pupil allocation). That 200‑student reduction translates to about $2,000,000 in ongoing revenue at the $10,000 estimate used in the presentation.

Board members also asked for a line‑by‑line reconciliation showing the amounts moved between general fund and grant funds, the utility and maintenance obligations for closed properties, and the offset from moving staff into other buildings. Cleaves and superintendent Jones agreed follow‑up detail would be provided to the board.

Votes at the hearing and subsequent regular meeting

- Final 2024–25 budget amendment (agenda item 11.2) — approved by roll call, 6 yes, 0 no, 1 absent. - Initial 2025–26 budget (agenda item 11.21) — approved by roll call, 6 yes, 0 no, 1 absent. - 2025–26 tax levies (agenda item 11.22) — approved by roll call, 6 yes, 0 no, 1 absent.

Trustee and staff comments about next steps emphasized tighter staffing reviews, continued use of grants to offset operating costs and a request from trustees for a detailed cost accounting related to the Nethercutt closure before the next finance meeting.

The board held roll‑call votes on the three budget items and closed the annual budget hearing before moving into the regular meeting agenda for personnel and contract approvals.