DeKalb school board debate exposes $200M shortfall; members call for audits and transparency

Board members pressed administrators on December 9 over a newly quantified funding gap tied to capital and federal stimulus projects, laying bare tensions about spending, contracting and oversight.

At the work session, Board Member Anna Hill presented calculations she said combine SPLOST 5 and SPLOST 6 revenues and project completion estimates, showing a funding gap on the order of roughly $100 million for SPLOST projects and an additional $100 million tied to ESSER allocations — a combined shortfall she described as “about $200,000,000.” Hill said she used the district’s own November reports and asked the board and operations staff to provide more frequent updates so policymakers can plan choices earlier.

Board Member Dr. Joyce Morley used her allotted time to object to placing operations items on the consent agenda, saying repeated contract modifications, budget reallocations and change orders have become routine and that the board should order outside audits of operations and procurement. “There’s no way in the world you can tell me last month, 11, now this month you got all these on here, and everyone…needs more money,” Morley said, adding she would vote no on several consent items until the concerns are addressed.

Operations Director Hofstadter and Superintendent Devon Q. Horton said cost escalation, scope changes and project timing explain many of the variances. Hofstadter detailed two procurement strategies — low-bid invitations to bid and construction manager-at-risk (CMAR) with a guaranteed maximum price (GMP). He said CMAR/GMP pricing brings a construction manager into design earlier, which can reduce later change orders and better fix a maximum district exposure. Horton and staff also noted the district has initiated operations and IT audits; Horton said an operations audit is underway and that staff will bring options to the board on additional funding mechanisms.

Several board members said the shortfall and recurring reallocations point to timing and reporting problems, not necessarily bad actors. Members asked for clearer cadence on budget updates and more consistent reconciliation between revenue estimates and project cost estimates so the next board can make informed choices.

What happens next: The board removed several operations items from the consent agenda for separate consideration and recorded multiple roll-call votes later in the meeting. Staff said they will continue work on the operations audit and provide updated budget reports to guide choices for SPLOST and ESSER projects.

Vote and procedural note: Multiple agenda and operations items were removed from consent after debate. At least one board member recorded repeated formal objections; where formal votes occurred they were recorded in the business session minutes.