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DeKalb board confronts roughly $200 million shortfall as members spar over contracts and amendments
Summary
On Dec. 9 the DeKalb County Board of Education heard member presentations showing an estimated combined SPLOST/ESSER shortfall of about $200 million and debated multiple construction contract reallocations; several items were removed from the consent agenda and later approved amid dissent.
The DeKalb County Board of Education spent much of its Dec. 9 meeting focused on a newly quantified budget gap and a string of contract amendments and reallocations to keep construction projects moving. Board member Anna Hill told colleagues she had reconciled recent revenue and budget figures and identified a shortfall that, when combined with ESSER project adjustments, totaled roughly $201 million.
Hill said the district’s SPLOST‑5 estimated revenues were lower than some project estimates and that SPLOST‑6 projections and ESSER-related project costs deepened the gap. “That’s $649,300,000 — that’s the revenue,” Hill said when describing the figures presented by finance staff. She urged the board to use the numbers to guide near‑term decisions and to consider an operations committee or more frequent updates so the board can monitor shifting project estimates.
Dr. Joyce Morley, a longtime board member, responded by opposing the sweeping consent placement of operations items and called repeatedly for an independent operations audit and greater scrutiny of repeated contract modifications and reallocations. “Somebody is getting rich, and it’s not me,” Morley said during an extended critique of change orders and reallocated contingency funds.
Superintendent Devon Q. Horton acknowledged the shortfall and described causes that include cost escalations on long‑running projects and paused spending in earlier years that have since resumed. Horton said the administration is pursuing options and noted that the board had already approved audits of operations and IT. “We do have a legitimate shortfall,” Horton told the board, and staff will bring funding mechanisms and recommendations back to the board.
Several items from the operations presentation (guaranteed maximum prices, amendments to design contracts, portable classroom leases and a charter‑bus extension) were first removed from the consent agenda for separate consideration. When taken up in the business meeting the board approved the individual measures by recorded votes; in many cases Morley registered the lone dissent or abstention. For example, votes on multiple GMP budget reallocations and amendments carried by board majorities despite ongoing objections.
Why it matters: The board’s decisions about how to handle the shortfall and about approving construction‑management‑at‑risk contracts and guaranteed maximum prices will influence which projects move forward, which ones are delayed or rephased, and how contingency and program funds are applied over the coming fiscal year.
What’s next: Board members asked staff to return with options to close the gap and to present more frequent, standardized financial updates. The board also approved an operations audit that members said should provide additional detail about procurement, change orders and contingency use.
Sources: Presentation and discussion at the Dec. 9, 2024 DeKalb County Board of Education meeting. Primary speakers: Anna Hill (board member), Dr. Joyce Morley (board member), Dr. Devon Q. Horton (superintendent).
