Quick Reference on District Finances

Haslett's General Fund draws from four streams. State aid is the largest at roughly 78 percent of total revenue, driven mainly by the per-pupil foundation allowance set under Michigan's Proposal A. For 2025-26, Haslett's foundation allowance was $10,050 per pupil, an increase of $442 (4.6 percent) over 2024-25. Local revenue (about 11 percent) comes from non-homestead property taxes plus fees and earnings from transportation, athletics, Kids' Connection, and Community Education. Other revenue (about 10 percent) is mostly special education funding distributed through Ingham ISD. Federal revenue (about 1 percent) covers Title grants, special education Medicaid reimbursement, and smaller federal grants.

The full revenue breakdown is published in the 2025-26 Final Budget. Statewide comparative data is available on MiSchoolData.

Michigan law requires every public school district to adopt a General Fund budget before July 1, the start of its fiscal year. The Board of Education holds a public Truth in Budgeting hearing and adopts the budget by resolution in open session. Haslett's 2026-27 budget was presented on June 8, 2026 and adopted unanimously on June 22, 2026.

When the Board adopts a budget in June, several inputs are still estimates: per-pupil state aid, fall enrollment, and the prior year's closing fund balance. Once those numbers are confirmed, the Superintendent brings forward an amendment so the budget matches verified reality. Haslett's 2025-26 final revised budget was presented to the Board on June 8, 2026 and adopted by the Board on June 22, 2026, as required under the Michigan Uniform Budgeting and Accounting Act and Board Policy 3202. Both documents are posted on the district transparency page.

The Board-adopted budget posted on the district website is organized by Function, the state-defined categories that describe why money was spent. Functions group spending by the service or activity it supports: Instruction, Pupil Support, Operations and Maintenance, General Administration, School Administration, Athletics, and so on. Each Function describes an activity, not a single line item. A school counselor's compensation, for example, lives inside Pupil Support. The Michigan Department of Education publishes the full set of Function definitions in the Michigan Public School Accounting Manual.

A Function total can shift noticeably from one year to the next for reasons that have nothing to do with services rising or falling. The most common causes are reclassification (a position recoded to a different Function to better match state reporting standards), staffing shifts (a role's duties change and the Function code moves with it), one-time items (a grant or capital project that lands in a single year), and grant timing (federal and state grants spanning fiscal years). A change in a Function total, on its own, is not the same as a reduction in services.

There are two measures you can use to evaluate the financial health of a Michigan school district. The first is whether the district is operating in deficit. Under Michigan law, a district is "in deficit" when its unassigned General Fund balance is negative, which triggers a state-filed Deficit Elimination Plan with the Michigan Department of Education. Haslett has no such filing.

The second is fund balance, the savings a district carries from one fiscal year to the next, similar to a household emergency fund. Haslett's fund balance at the close of 2024-25 was $2,428,047, confirmed in the 2025 audit report issued by Maner Costerisan PC on October 14, 2025. The district has maintained a positive fund balance for nearly two decades. Statewide fund balance data, including Haslett's history, is published on MiSchoolData.

Oversight is layered. Day-to-day expense approval flows through department supervisors or principals, the business office, and the Superintendent. The Board of Education adopts the annual budget, approves any mid-year amendments, and reviews financial reports at regular meetings, all in open session under Board Policy 2101 and Policy 3202.

The Board's Finance and Facility Committee, currently Treasurer Molly Polverento, Trustee Travis Stoliker, and Trustee Rick Fritz, reviews financial reports, budget documents, and audit materials before full Board action. An independent certified public accounting firm audits the district's financial statements every year. The Michigan Department of Education monitors district fiscal status through the State Aid Financial Status Report and other required filings. All Board and Committee meetings are open to the public; agendas and minutes are posted on the Board agendas and minutes page.

An independent certified public accounting firm conducts the audit each year in accordance with government auditing standards. The audit tests whether the district's financial statements fairly present its financial position, whether internal controls are functioning, and whether spending complied with applicable laws and grant requirements. The auditor issues a written opinion. An unmodified opinion is the highest standard issued under government auditing standards.

Haslett's four most recent audits, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25, all received unmodified opinions. The full audit report is presented to the Board in open session, most recently on October 21, 2025, and posted on the district transparency page.

Three pages cover most of what residents look for. The district transparency page holds Board-adopted budgets, annual audit reports, the accounts payable check register, and other state-required transparency reports. The Board agendas and minutes page holds every meeting agenda, packet, and approved minutes. MiSchoolData presents Haslett's per-pupil revenue, expenditure, fund balance, and academic data alongside other Michigan districts for direct comparison.

All Board meetings include time for public comment. The schedule is posted on the Board meeting schedule page.