Hazel Park, Mich. — The Hazel Park School District Board of Education approved Budget Amendment No. 1 for fiscal year 2025-26 at its Oct. 30 special meeting after administrators presented updated revenue estimates, grant carryovers and interfund transfers.

Monica, a member of the district's business office, told the board the state's foundation allowance per pupil increased and, using the district's blended state-aid enrollments (the Oct. state-aid report), the change produced approximately $1.28 million in additional state foundation revenue when modeled against the district's FTEs. The administration said the amendment netted an overall revenue increase of about $532,000 after removing some categorical lines that were eliminated or adjusted.

Key budget items: Administration cited that much of the revenue carryover reflected timing: bills paid in the prior fiscal year were recognized as expenditures but the matching revenue fell outside the 60-day recognition window and therefore appears in fiscal 2026 activity. Specific items called out included roughly $722,859 in transfers expected from the special education fund and about $460,000 in community center grant revenue that had been expensed in the prior year but recognized in this budget year.

Fund balance and projections: Administration reported an unrestricted general fund balance of about $1.2 million at year end and said, factoring in carryover items, the district's usable fund balance would be higher (administration estimated combined effect could put available resources closer to about $2.5 million). The proposed 2025-26 budget, after the amendment, shows an estimated ending fund balance of approximately $2.2 million (about 3.84% of expenditures) based on current assumptions.

Spending and uncertainties: Administrators said they reviewed staffing costs (including projected hires and fringes), contract obligations (insurance, workers' comp, copiers) and made conservative estimates on positions and class counts. They noted remaining uncertainty in federal funding and that fall student counts had not been finalized; the district used the state-aid FTE in the October report (about 2,905.75) as the basis for state-aid calculations. The administration said ESSER funds concluded last year and were not included in this budget.

Board questions and follow-up: Board members asked for more detail on specific line-item changes (for example, the components of a nearly $1 million reduction in "other"); administrators agreed to email follow-up details and to post the presentation on the district transparency page. A board member asked about interest income and debt-service transfers; staff said those items were built into the budget and they would provide specifics.

Vote: Board member Debbie moved to ratify Budget Amendment No. 1 for 2025-26 and Heidi seconded. Roll-call votes were recorded in the affirmative and the motion carried.

Next steps: Administration will submit the approved audit and the amended budget to state systems by the early-November deadline and said it will provide two-month checks and updates to the board on other funds and grant reimbursements. The board also directed administration to bring cybersecurity risk-assessment and backup options and cost estimates to the Committee of the Whole for review prior to purchasing decisions.