Litchfield Community School DistrictBudget & Spending
Litchfield, Hillsdale County, Michigan NCES 2621750
- Total revenue · FY2024
- $4.4M $4,399,000
- Students enrolled
- 240
- Revenue per pupil
- $18,329
- Local share per pupil
- $3,750 14th percentile in MI
Transparency grade C, provisional
Under reviewProvisional grade
Every district starts at a provisional C until its records have been reviewed. This is a starting point, not a finding.
If you work for this district, you can shorten the wait by sending us links to the records you already publish.
NCES F-33 · FY2024
Where the money goes
Operating and capital spending from the federal expenditure survey, rolled up by function.
Aggregate categories only: no individual payees or contracts are shown.
- Instruction
- $2.2M 48.3% of spending
- Administration
- $249K 5.5% of spending
- Per pupil
- $18,746 All functions
- Instruction 48.3%
- Capital Outlay 14.4%
- Student Transportation 8.7%
- Food Services 7.4%
- Instructional Staff Support 4.3%
- Operations & Maintenance 4.2%
- Business & Central Services 4.0%
- School Administration 3.9%
- Student Support Services 3.0%
- General Administration 1.6%
View the numbers as a table
| Function | Amount | Per pupil | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instruction | $2,171,000 | $9,046 | 48.3% |
| Capital Outlay | $650,000 | $2,708 | 14.4% |
| Student Transportation | $393,000 | $1,638 | 8.7% |
| Food Services | $333,000 | $1,388 | 7.4% |
| Instructional Staff Support | $194,000 | $808 | 4.3% |
| Operations & Maintenance | $191,000 | $796 | 4.2% |
| Business & Central Services | $181,000 | $754 | 4.0% |
| School Administration | $176,000 | $733 | 3.9% |
| Student Support Services | $137,000 | $571 | 3.0% |
| General Administration | $73,000 | $304 | 1.6% |
| Total | $4,499,000 | $18,746 | 100% |
NCES F-33 · FY2005–FY2024
How this has changed
Summary Four points on FY2005 to FY2024
- Operating balance and scale In FY2024 the district reported $4.4M in revenue against $3.8M in current operating spending. It took in $550K more than it spent on operations, a margin of 12.5% of revenue. A further $650K went to capital outlay, 14.3% of total spending, which is typically financed by borrowing rather than out of revenue. This compares revenue with operating cost only; it is not a fund balance and not an audited result.
- Inflation and real growth Consumer prices rose +60.6% between FY2005 and FY2024. Revenue rose +1.7% and operating spending -6.7% in nominal terms. Revenue trailed inflation, losing +36.7% in purchasing power. Operating spending trailed inflation, losing +41.9% in purchasing power.
- Enrollment and per-pupil cost Enrollment fell by 269 students, -52.8%. Operating spending per student went from $8,106 to $16,038, +97.8% nominal and +23.2% after inflation.
- Structural takeaway Revenue grew faster than operating spending, by 8.4 percentage points over the period, with real cost per student rising while enrollment fell, so fewer students are carrying a larger real cost base. These figures describe cost, not performance: the F-33 does not say what a district was funded to do, and this site scores what a district publishes rather than how it spends.
Generated from the figures in the table below, not written by hand and not written by a model. Change the years and it recalculates.
| Measure | FY2005 | FY2024 | Change | Nominal % | Real % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $4,326,000 | $4,399,000 | +$73,000 | +1.7% | -36.7% |
| Total expenditure | $4,296,000 | $4,531,000 | +$235,000 | +5.5% | -34.3% |
| Revenue per pupil | $8,499 | $18,329 | +$9,830 | +115.7% | +34.3% |
| Students enrolled | 509 | 240 | -269 | -52.8% | — |
Percent change from each measure's FY2005 level. Dollar figures are nominal as filed; the real column removes inflation using CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, annual average (BLS). The dashed line is that same inflation curve, so a dollar line above it gained purchasing power and one below it lost. It does not apply to enrollment. Hover any point for the underlying number.
100-point rubric
What Litchfield Community School District needs for an A
-
Public check register
14 ptsEvery disbursement published with payee category, date, amount, and fund, updated at least quarterly.
A check register records where money actually went, rather than where it was budgeted to go.
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Annual financial audit
6 ptsA current Annual Comprehensive Financial Report with the independent auditor opinion attached.
A financial audit confirms the statements are accurately presented. Most states require one, so it is a floor rather than a distinction.
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Performance or efficiency audit
5 ptsAn independent review of whether spending achieved its stated purpose, published within the last three years.
A financial audit asks whether the numbers are right. A performance audit asks whether the money did what it was meant to do, which is the question a taxpayer is usually asking.
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Line-item adopted budget
11 ptsThe adopted budget broken out by function and object code, not a summary presentation.
Function and object detail is what allows classroom and central office spending to be compared.
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Purchasing card transactions
9 ptsPurchasing and credit card transaction detail with merchant category, date, and amount.
Card purchases sit outside the standard purchase-order process, so separate disclosure is what makes them reviewable.
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Payment history by category
9 ptsCumulative payments grouped by spending category, covering at least one full fiscal year.
Category totals show concentration and recurring commitments that individual payments do not.
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Machine-readable data
9 ptsFinancial data offered as CSV, XLSX, JSON, or an open API rather than scanned images.
A scanned PDF is technically public and practically difficult to analyse. Open formats make review possible.
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Compensation schedule
7 ptsCurrent salary schedules and aggregate administrator compensation bands, including stipends.
Payroll is the largest line in most district budgets, so schedule-level disclosure covers the bulk of spending.
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Bond and capital disclosure
7 ptsBond program spending reported against the specific projects voters approved, with remaining balances.
Bond funds are borrowed against future taxes and authorised for a named project list, so reporting against that list closes the loop.
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Board minutes and agendas
7 ptsMinutes and agenda packets posted together with the financial exhibits that were voted on.
The vote and its attachment are what connect a decision to the money it moved.
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Contracts posted
6 ptsExecuted contracts and amendments above the district bid threshold, posted in full.
A payment shows the amount. The contract shows what was promised in return.
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Direct download, no request
6 ptsCore financial records download directly, with no records request, login, or fee.
Publishing a record and releasing it on request are different levels of disclosure.
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Published records process
4 ptsA public records page naming the responsible officer, the statutory timeline, and any fees.
A documented process tells a requester what to expect before they file.
No items have been checked yet. These fill in as each record is located and verified.