Since under the leadership of Superintendent Lynette Maas, the Willow River School District has received satisfactory audit reports over the past few years. The trend continued at the regular meeting on November 10, when the board was presented with the district’s annual audit for year ended June 30, 2009. “The school district really has improved over the last several years,” said certified public account Robert Althoff of Althoff and Nordquist, LLC.

The report, subsequently approved by the board, shows a general fund balance of $1,449,702, an increase of over $242,000 from last year. Revenues for fiscal year 2009 totaled $4,498,164 and exceeded expenditures by $242,599, leaving the fund balance at a positive 34.1 percent of expenditures. This is an amount sufficient to cover about four months of expenditures at the 2009 level.

The audit report supports the fact that district finances have been steadily improving since the 8.7 percent fund balance in June of 2006, when the district officially ascended from its three-year stance in statutory operating debt. In 2008 the fund balance was at a positive 31.22 percent, and in 2007 it hovered at 26.5 percent.

“There were no findings to report,” said Althoff. “Your policies are in agreement with the requirements.”

He advised the board on its use of the Federal stimulus money that the district is expecting, saying, “Use the money you get wisely and realize it’s a one-time thing.”

Vice-chairman Tia Grutkoski acknowledged Maas and business manager Jenny Nelson for their hand in the fine report, saying, “They deserve all the credit.” She added, “This is the best audit report that I’ve seen since I’ve been on the board.”

Other business

In follow-up to the letter of request from the Moose Lake School Board to possibly consolidate with Willow River and Barnum Schools, Maas announced that a joint meeting has been scheduled among the school boards for December 1 at 6:30 pm at Barnum School. In a response letter penned by Maas and dated October 23, the Willow River board showed little interest in consolidating. However, the letter states “an interest in sharing programs, staffing, or other resources to a greater degree than we do now.”

The board approved changes in Section IV to the Athletic Director/Program Management by-laws of the Moose Lake-Willow River Rebels Cooperative Agreement. The two changes were recently requested by the sports liaison committee and focus on the interview process for hiring coaches. Instead of one board member and one administrative representative, the interview team for head coach positions now includes the superintendents and athletic directors from each district. The interview team for other coaches includes the head coach and at least one of the two athletic directors.

Maas announced that the anticipated H1N1 vaccination clinic at the school has been “scrapped” by Pine County, which instead opted for a countywide clinic. The vaccine clinic was slated for the afternoon of November 17 in Hinckley.