PONDERAY— The Lake Pend Oreille School District’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved a clean audit of the district’s fiscal year 2025 financial statements.

The audit conducted by Moscow-based firm Hayden Ross found that the district’s statements accurately represented its spending. Tony Matson, a partner at Hayden Ross, said this is the eighth year in a row that LPOSD’s revenues have outpaced its expenses. 

“We issued a clean opinion on the financial statement, so no findings, clean opinion,” Matson said. “That’s exactly where we wanted to be when we started the audit, that’s what we were all hoping for.” 

Matson said a major takeaway from the audit was the slowing growth of LPOSD’s general fund, which grew by around $600,000 last fiscal year. This marks a stark difference from the past eight years, which saw the general fund balance jump from $2.1 million in fiscal year 2017 to over $22 million in fiscal year 2025. 

LPOSD Superintendent Dr. Becky Meyer said that decision is by design and that the district budgeted last year to begin spending some of the general fund balance. Meyer said former district CFO Lisa Hals came up with the plan to help the district stretch their taxpayer dollars further. 

Meyer said LPOSD plans to extend the general fund balance out to 2027, when she expects the district will need another increase to its levy. Meyer said she checks every purchase made in the district through a fiscally conservative lens. 

"By the time we go back to the voters, it will have been nine years of a flat levy, so at some point we know it would have to start coming down,” Meyer said. "This year was supposed to be negative again and so for two years in a row I’ve tried to budget for it to be in the red.” 

During his presentation, Matson said the large increases to LPOSD’s general fund are in-line with what the firm has seen from other similar districts. He said that the district’s increased permanent levy and COVID relief funds helped the district build around a 5-moth cushion in the general fund. 

By board policy, LPOSD must maintain a minimum of 5% of general fund revenue in the balance at all times as a precautionary measure.  

Around 31% of LPOSD’s funding comes from local dollars, while a vast majority of around 68% comes from the state, according to the audit. Matson said the district increased its support units, which helped bring in more revenue from the state. 

The audit found a majority of LPOSD’s spending, or around $27 million goes toward instruction. Matson said this area saw increases in fiscal year 2025 due to the rising costs of employee benefits like health insurance. 

"You guys are right in line with what we are seeing at Moscow, Lewiston, Lakeland, Coeur d’Alene,” Matson said. “Your percentages real similar to the other school districts.” 

During his presentation, Matson said the district’s single-audit, which deals with federal compliance, will be brought before the board at a later date. He said the federal government shutdown and new guidelines are the reason the firm has not been able to complete the audit. 

“We went ahead and separated the financial statement audit from the compliance audit so we could issue the report, and you guys can get your statement down to the state on time,” Matson said. “There’s no ETA on the guidelines being approved.” 

The board unanimously approved several revisions to board policies, which brought them in line with Idaho Code. Trustees also heard several policy changes on first reading with limited discussion.  

The next meeting of the LPOSD Board of Trustees is scheduled for Dec. 9 at 5 p.m. and will be held at the district’s headquarters in Ponderay.