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DeKalb school board quantifies $201.8 million shortfall, approves multiple construction contracts
Summary
At its Dec. 9 meeting the DeKalb County Board of Education approved several construction contract amendments and guaranteed maximum prices while board members and the superintendent acknowledged a roughly $201.8 million funding shortfall across SPLOST, ESSER and project budgets; trustees also agreed to pause several proposed policy changes until new board members are seated.
The DeKalb County Board of Education on Dec. 9 approved a slate of construction contracts and budget reallocations even as board members laid out a newly quantified shortfall they said will require difficult decisions.
Board members authorized guaranteed maximum prices and related budget adjustments for a string of capital projects, including a $7,402,255 GMP for Livesey Elementary School’s HVAC replacement and renovation and a $7,335,874 GMP for Toney Elementary’s HVAC work. Operations staff described the district’s use of construction-manager-at-risk contracts as a way to limit change orders by bringing contractors into the design process and setting a guaranteed maximum price. The board recorded split votes on several of the packages; individual actions and tallies were taken in the business session after items were pulled from the consent agenda for discussion.
The meeting’s most consequential financial discussion centered on revenue and project-cost estimates for sales‑tax-funded capital programs (SPLOST) and federal ESSER projects. Board member Anna Hill ran through district figures she said were drawn from the finance and operations reports and told colleagues the district faces a combined shortfall of about $201,848,532 across SPLOST 5, SPLOST 6 and ESSER project budgets. “That is a calculated shortfall of 201,848,532,” Hill said as she walked the board through the math and the sources of her numbers. Several trustees and the superintendent agreed there is a legitimate funding gap and said they will present options and additional funding mechanisms in coming weeks.
Superintendent Devon Q. Horton acknowledged the shortfall and told the board the district is pursuing multiple responses, including more frequent budget updates and continued use of audits already underway. “The shortfall is legit on in our funding, but we are moving our district strategically and intentionally,” Horton said, adding that operations and IT audits are in progress and that auditors have requested additional documentation for the FY23 engagement.
Trustee Joyce Morley strongly opposed placing several operations items on the consent agenda and repeatedly called for outside scrutiny of contracting and reallocation practices. Morley said repeated contract modifications and re‑allocations have become routine and argued the district should halt such approvals until external or independent review clarifies whether change orders and reallocations are justified. “There’s a cover up at the expense of the children,” she said during a prolonged exchange with staff. Her objections led the board to remove multiple items from consent for separate roll-call votes.
Finance staff reported on the FY23 audit engagement with Malden & Jenkins, saying the audit is in a review stage and auditors planned an exit conference in late January; finance said it had met state submission deadlines and is preparing FY24 statements under improved internal systems.
Human resources reported progress on staffing: HR said the district currently lists 65 teacher vacancies and described progress placing graduates of the district’s teacher-residency program. Board members and HR asked for clearer breakdowns of certificated versus provisional fills and for continued support to transition provisional teachers to full certification.
Public commenters during the community-input portion raised implementation issues that mirror the board’s internal debate: vendor-approval and payment delays that forced at least one school trip to be canceled, outstanding payroll and time-and-attendance questions, requests for a forensic external audit and concerns about donation recognition and potential optics when contributors are publicly honored.
What’s next: Board leadership voted to table three proposed policy amendments to allow incoming board members to review them; operations and finance leaders said they will return with detailed options to address the shortfall, and audits underway are expected to yield further clarifications early next year.
Votes and formal actions recorded at the meeting are limited to the motions put on the record in the business session and included adoption of the agenda (recorded 6–1), separate approvals of multiple construction and contract items (mix of 6–1 and 4–3 outcomes), and final approval of the consent agenda after the tablings (7–0).
