Birmingham Public Schools achieve clean audit

Birmingham Public Schools recently received a clean audit for the fiscal year ending in June 2022, demonstrating the district’s steady commitment to fiscal responsibility, financial stewardship and investing in student success.

The district received a clean audit from audit firm Plante Moran on both its financial statement and its involvement in federal programs such as the Education Stabilization Fund.

“We’re pleased to report that based on our test of the transactions that you had, looking at your internal controls, as well as confirming with outside parties, we rendered an unmodified or clean opinion on the financial statement audit … the highest form of assurance that you can receive from an auditing firm,” Laura Claeys, group managing partner at Plante Moran’s Macomb office, told the Birmingham board of education at its Nov. 15 meeting.

BPS finished the 2021-2022 financial year in the black, without a noncash adjustment on investments. The outlook for the 2022-2023 year is positive as well. The district received a higher than anticipated increase in per-pupil funding from the state and received an additional $2.1 million in categorical funds for safety, mental health and special education supports. The district also has taken swift action to make this positive progress, including:

• Department leaders have utilized conservative spending methods.
• Administration and staff have sought out cost-saving opportunities.
• The district has pursued every opportunity for grants and support from state and federal levels.

“I’d like to thank our teachers, staff, families, students and board members for keeping our district strong, united and focused on the success of our students and district,” said Superintendent Dr. Embekka Roberson. “Thanks to our team’s diligence and hard work, we’re seeing many new families interested in our district and our enrollment numbers are better than anticipated. It’s no surprise families want to be a part of Birmingham Public Schools — our district ranks among the best in the state and nation. And our turnaround plan to stabilize and improve the district’s finances through tough choices including cutting costs and reducing spending while focusing on attracting new families here is clearly beginning to work.”

BPS recently received an A+ rating from Niche.com and ranked among the top 1.4% of school districts nationwide. The district ranked as the fifth best school district in Michigan, up from eighth the previous year.

BPS ranked third in Oakland County and #150 out of more than 10,000 districts nationwide in Niche’s 2023 Best Schools rankings released this fall.

“Our team at BPS is committed to promoting academic excellence, attracting new students and serving as responsible stewards of district finances,” Roberson said. “And while there is still much work left to do in terms of righting our financial ship, we can take pride that our collective efforts are beginning to make a difference right now.”