Britton Deerfield taxpayers pack board meeting

Residents of the Britton Deerfield school district packed the Deerfield media center Monday night to hear the school board’s response to a school millage error. Some 1,400 properties in the district were charged double for a winter tax school millage to make up for a $328,860 district shortage after the 2022 millage form was incorrectly filled out.

Some residents who spoke during public comment were incensed that the superintendent and board knew about the mistake in January 2023, yet did not inform the public to give them time to prepare for their winter tax bill.

“Why did you not let the community know this tax issue was coming? At the county commissioner meeting they clearly stated this was the fault of the superintendent,” said resident Greg Gaw. “You have a leader of a school district that preaches accountability yet refuses to take responsibility for the actions on this tax issue… Every single one of you knew this was happening, and not one public notice was given,” he said.

He stated that in 2015 when Johnson began as interim superintendent, the district had 719 students, but at last count there were 340. “That’s a staggering decline of more than fifty percent during her tenure, not to mention the huge staff turnover in the same time period,” he said. Gaw asked the board members to resign, stating that there would be an effort to recall the board if they did not, which brought loud applause from the crowd.

Jennifer Grudnoski said she appreciated what the board and superintendent do, “But when this came out that our winter taxes were being doubled and that it hadn’t been communicated with us, that’s what was upsetting for me. Not that a mistake was made. Mistakes happen, and while I might not have agreed with them doubling it on our winter property taxes this year, I understand that decisions had to be made,” she said. “What frustrated and disappointed me was that there was no communication.

“This is the first time where I have felt that the response to this issue is at best disingenuous and at worst, dishonest,” she said stating that the statement that the superintendent and board thought the county equalization department would inform taxpayers of the error was unbelievable. “Some of you live in the township where this happened, and you know you didn’t receive anything, so why did you think the rest of the citizens would have?” she said.

Grudnoski also referred to statements that the topic of the tax error was in the board minutes. “I’ve looked at those meeting minutes. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I couldn’t see anywhere in there where I, as an uninformed citizen, would have known there was a mistake,” she said.

“Did you think taxpayers would not notice? Did you all think the extra thousand dollars is no big deal?” asked Linda Wielfaert. “It is a mere coincidence that the agenda item of the superintendent evaluation was at the very last minute removed from tonight’s agenda?... Will you once again misrepresent the performance of this superintendent and submit yet another ‘highly effective’ evaluation? If so, each and every one of you should resign.” Phyllis Below also expressed concerns about the board’s transparency.

Kim Gall said she was saddened by the viciousness on the community Facebook page. “Why do we automatically think the commissioners are truthful? Maybe they’re not truthful. Maybe it really was someone else’s mistake,” she said. In response to Gaw’s comment about declining enrollment, she said that all schools have lost students, including Tecumseh. “That’s not the fault of the superintendent, is it?” she said. She urged residents to look at Johnson’s performance over the years instead of one mistake, and to support the board and the superintendent.

Doug Mayher, a former school board member who was removed in a 2018 recall election, cautioned attendees about another recall. “There’s something to be said for having a board that has experience,” he said. “If you guys really want to recall another board, you’re going to have newer people sitting there that may or may not know what’s going on.”

Sarah Sobus expressed concern about Johnson’s interactions on social media. “If you get on Facebook, every night probably around six-thirty, seven o-clock, the superintendent of Britton Deerfield Schools, Stacy Johnson, is on there responding to every comment on there,” she said. “You have to have a professional superintendent. You can’t argue with the community when you are in that position. So, if the board finds this professional, I personally do feel like you should resign.”

She also said that Britton Deerfield and Tecumseh schools cannot be compared because of the large difference in enrollment. “Their board takes action. Boards around our county take action. They don’t just sit back and are ‘yes men,’ and I wish you guys would stand up for us, the people that are telling you we are not happy,” Sobus said. “When we lose these schools and they close, our home values go down. If you don’t think that’s a problem, please step down and don’t continue to serve us, because none of this is okay.”

Mike Gresens, a bond attorney with Thrun Law Firm, said that the board could not have legally spread the missed bond taxes over three years. The district acted to make up for lost funds by acquiring a loan from the treasury department in April, which was officially approved by the board in August. The new school millage rate for winter 2023 is 5.61 mills, up from 2.73 mills.

“Was there anything the board could have done differently?” asked board secretary Adam Roehm. Gresens said it would be best for someone to proofread tax forms in the future to make sure that millages are on them. Roehm also questioned whether the equalization office has the ability to communicate with taxpayers, and if there is an explanation why the form for Monroe County was correct and the one for Lenawee County was not.

“I do want the public to know that I am sorry that it happened,” Johnson said. “There’s no motivation to make a mistake like that. We will be pursuing with our legal team an investigation into the matter because we do believe that there’s more that needs to be explained.”

Johnson said, “We’ve been able to find that there are a lot of things that aren’t as they seem when tax documents go to the different entities and you’re billing outside of your county lines, your community lines, what documents go to whom.”

She said Business Manager Sue Andries sent the 2022 tax forms in the U.S. Mail as hard copies, and from now on the district will send the forms electronically to have proof of what was sent, “Although it is extra work in our office, we feel very secure in the recommendations we get from Thrun,” she said.

“There’s a message right on the tax bill that says, ‘Message to taxpayers.’ A box, right on the tax form. I have no understanding of why it is we didn’t see them send something out on that,” Johnson said, noting that the townships have review boards in the summer when residents can have their taxes explained. “If those meetings took place in June and July, and then they didn’t get the tax bill until November, how could people possibly have gone in and asked questions? That doesn’t make any sense. We have to do a better job.”

Roehm said he was trying to recall when it was brought to the board’s attention that the millage was assessed, stating that there was a discussion in January. “We only knew our only legal option was to assess that millage, as the attorney said,” he said. Of notification of the error and the change in the millage rate, Roehm said, “We don’t send that out… I would be questioning your tax assessor on this on why they didn’t communicate.”

The board asked Johnson for details of the communication between her and the county equalization office to help clarify the issue. Neither Johnson nor the board explained the district’s lack of communication with the commuity when they knew of the tax error.  

“I’m not pointing fingers at anyone, because I don’t know who did this yet,” said Johnson, stating her displeasure with county commissioners who said she was to blame. “I am hoping that I have the full weight of the board for an investigation, because I know that when I signed that document, I can only attest to what was on that form when I signed it, not when it left my office, and that’s where I believe the problem happened. Signatures don’t match on documents that go to two different places in exact likeness when you hold them up to the light, and one form is different from the other… that just doesn’t happen,” she said.