RENVILLE -- Renville County West has pulled itself out of statutory operating debt, a full year ahead of its plan to do so.
It was during the presentation of the school audit at the meeting Monday that school board members officially learned the goal had been achieved. They celebrated with a cheese and meat platter sent by former Superintendent Glenn Chiodo.
He began his duties just after the district entered statutory operating debt six years ago, and he helped draft the plan to bring it out. When he arrived, the district faced an approximate $2.5 million deficit and its budget included nearly $900,000 in deficit spending.
A district is considered to be in statutory operating debt when its unreserved fund balance is a negative amount that is greater than state standards allow.
The law specifies an amount equal or greater than 2.5 percent of a district's operating expenses.
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RCW had to persuade state officials to give the district more than the usual three-year time frame to get its finances back on solid ground, according to interim Superintendent John Widvey.
To emerge from statutory operating debt this year, the district eliminated its remaining $774,165 deficit and posted a positive fund balance of $62,811 for the 2005-2006 fiscal year, according to the audit report.
The move out of statutory operating debt sets a "new tone" for the district, said Widvey.
He said the district can now focus on moving forward. Board members will start the next budget process without having to look at making significant cuts.
At the same time, he cautioned that the district will have to continue to "mind the store'' and keep a tight control over its finances.
One of the first actions taken by board members on Monday was a decision to begin recruiting a full-time superintendent to succeed Widvey, who is serving on an interim, part-time basis.
By all measures, the district faced a difficult time to improve its financial situation, according to Widvey. He pointed out that state funding for education has remained flat during the past six years, while rural districts such as RCW continued to see enrollment declines.
Costs for operations -- from salaries to fuel for heating -- have continued to rise. The district also coped with the costs associated with an aging infrastructure.
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Widvey said school board members have had to make difficult budget cuts for six consecutive years, perhaps none as hard as last year's decision to close the Danube campus.
Yet the superintendent said much of the credit belongs to residents of the district, who were willing to support two separate levy requests to help the school. Voters approved a $400-per-pupil levy in a referendum this November. They had previously approved an $800-per-pupil levy as part of the plan to take the district out of statutory operating debt.
Widvey said board members see the voters' approval as an indication of their support for the educational offerings at the school and commitment to maintaining an independent RCW district.
