WESTLAND, Mich. (WXYZ) — Officials at Wayne-Westland Community Schools are trying to avoid a state takeover. This comes as an audit of the district’s recent budget revealed a huge shortfall.
Now parents are worried as the district is starting to make cuts to make up for the lost money.
“They're literally playing musical chairs with teachers, displacing students, eliminating classes, interrupting the pattern of learning that is going on with these students,” Jessica West said.
West has four children in the Wayne-Westland school district. Last week, she and thousands of other parents received a letter informing them that the district was dealing with serious financial issues.
“We are borderline territory for the state to take over our school district because if it drops below 5%, we've got bigger problems,” West said. “I don’t want to see that happen.”
The district’s general fund went from $26.9 million to $9.2 million in just one year. The district took in $135 million this year but spent $152 million resulting in a $17.6 million discrepancy in the budget.
According to the district, the discrepancy was not a result of deliberate miscalculations or misconduct. In a statement the district said:
"With the complexity of today's budgets, which are made even more complex by the influx of various COVID funds, the discrepancies occurred within the budgeting processes rather than from actual transactions. The diligent efforts of the new financial leadership and staff have been instrumental in identifying these issues during the recent financial review and subsequent budget cycles. The district is diligently working toward obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the final budget projections."
West says someone in the district needs to be held accountable for the financial errors.
“You don't just lose 17-plus million dollars overnight and there hasn't been an issue," West said. “Even accidents due to negligence is misconduct.”
West says she worried that once the district makes cuts to extracurricular programs, it will add more pressure on families and nonprofit organizations to pick up the slack.
Fellow parent Jessica Harless helps out with the Friends of John Glenn Music organization, which helps raise money for the school’s music department.
“We will do our darnedest to make sure the kids aren’t affected,” Harless said. “So for us, it just means we’re going to have to step up our fundraising."
As for West, she says she hopes the district can figure out their finances soon.
“I don't want to see our district fail,” West said.
