School district ends this year
By Jerry W. Kram
A review of the financial statements for the Parshall School District showed a clean bill of financial health except for an unusual problem – the district had too much cash on hand.
School superintendent John Weidner explained that North Dakota limits the amount of reserves cash school districts can have on hand. In this case, the districts reserve fund wound up with about $300,000 more than the law allows. Weidner said two unexpected revenue sources were largely the reason for the overage. The school board had budgeted for a cut in impact aid funding that was reduced because of federal budget sequestration. Earlier in the year, Congress voted to restore that funding for the 2012-13 school year. The other funds came from a $100,000 grant from the Three Affiliated Tribes that the board hadn’t expected.
"It’s odd to be in a district where they say you have too much money," Weidner said. "In Iowa and Nebraska it was always chop, chop, chop."
