BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – On July 1, 2019, Benton Harbor Area Schools school board regained its full authority and was released from state oversight due to years of fiscal mismanagement.
Within a year, the COVID-19 pandemic would hit and bail the school district out of years of fiscal chaos with a $46.7 million injection of federal revenue. At that time the district’s revenues had shrunk to $25.3 million in 2019-20.
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The Benton Harbor School Board stated at its Dec. 17 meeting that it was meeting with State Superintendent Michael Rice in January to discuss the district’s finances.
The pandemic proved to be a financial boon to the district.
A 2020 report issued by the State of Michigan found the district had revenues of $25.2 million and expenditures of $28.8 million and faced a $4.4 million deficit.
In 2021, the district reported it was out of deficit for the first time in 14 years. By 2024, the district’s fund balance had grown from a negative $4.1 million in 2018 to a positive $36 million.
The state of Michigan forgave $10.3 million in debt Benton Harbor schools owed the state in loans in December 2023, according to the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.
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