DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – The Detroit Public School Community District completed its eighth consecutive year of having a balanced budget and has seen its General Fund reserves skyrocket from $79 million in 2017 to $914.9 million in 2024, a 1,058% increase.

That’s according to budget documents given to the district’s finance committee for its Nov. 22 meeting.

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The school district has never been more flush with money. According to the Michigan Department of Education, per pupil funding has nearly doubled from 2016-17 to 2022-23, the most recent year data is available. Per pupil General Fund money increased from $14,754 in 2016-17 to $28,919 in 2022-23. That data includes local, state and federal dollars. The district’s enrollment has gone from 45,720 in 2016-17 to 48,476 in 2023-24.

The district received $1.3 billion in federal pandemic relief money. The majority of the increase of the district’s General Fund reserves came post-pandemic. The General Fund reserves increased from $101.6 million in 2021 to $290.5 million in 2022 and then jumped to $632.4 million the next year before reaching the $914.9 million in 2024.

This year, the school district received $94.4 million from the state Legislature in the settlement of the 2016 lawsuit filed by a group of students who alleged they did not receive a minimum level of education.