Pontiac Times

A public finance banker with Robert W. Baird & Co., a financial services company in Lansing, Michigan, told the board of education of the Pontiac City School District that the district’s general fund is “getting stronger.”

Brian Lefler presented the school district’s financial status from the last 12 months during the Dec. 5, 2022, regular board of education meeting, which was published on YouTube.  

Lefler has worked with school district for nearly 10 years, during a period when the district had an approximate $50 million deficit.

“I remember being the time when you came out of deficit and what a huge accomplishment and you’re continuing on that positive track,” Lefler said.

Lefler reviewed graphs that showed that the district eliminated the need for state aid in the last two fiscal years.

“Once again you're getting out of your structural deficit," he said. "That's good. That's what this graph is telling you. That’s what both of these graphs are telling you, so your general fund is getting stronger.”  

Lefler examined some of the district’s current outstanding debt that’s paid from the general fund, illustrating how refinancing some of the interest rates for loans, such as emergency loans from Michigan, saved the district money on payments. The refinancing lowers the cost to the general fund. He said a projection of debt repayments until 2044 shows a drop off as time goes on. 

Board President Gill Garrett said the board was “grateful” for what Lefler and his team have done for the district in the last decade, including putting a financial plan in place and explaining it to benefit the community.

“For us as board members, [it means being] able to go out to the other seven municipalities and share with them how we are saving their money and how we are spending their money,” Garrett said. “Because if a dollar is leaving my house, I want to know what's happening with it, and that builds trust. [Your] presentation] is allowing us to do that. And we thank you for that.”