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When Connie Calloway became superintendent of Detroit Public Schools in July, the district's finances appeared to be in the black. But six months into her job, Calloway says she has discovered numerous expenses that should have been accounted for in the last budget year that have now forced the district into a $20 million deficit. Among the items that should have been included in last year's budget is more than $1 million for background checks for 16,000 school employees. Under a state law that passed in 2005, districts have until July 1, 2008, to have their employees fingerprinted for a new State Police database that can identify felons and sexual predators working in schools.
