Grand Forks School Board members are optimistic they will have a strong pool of candidates for the district's superintendent position, thanks to another positive annual audit of the School District.
"It's good news for us," said Mike St. Onge, the board president, of the annual audit. "We hope we'll have a good pool. In fact, we expect we'll have a good pool of candidates. This is a good school district."
The audit, prepared by Drees, Riskey & Vallager of Grand Forks, received an "unqualified" report rating, which "basically means it's flawless," said Tim Lamb, Grand Forks School Board member. "This is a district that prides itself for outstanding ratings."
The audit checks procedures and processes against state and federal standards, since Grand Forks Air Force Base schools must meet additional standards to secure federal funding, St. Onge said.
The audit shows the Grand Forks School District had met its targets with employee salaries, class sizes and facilities. The district finished its 2006-07 fiscal year, which runs from July to June, with a surplus of $920,000, according to a budget report released in August. Expenses totaled $67.5 million for the year.
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Deadline nears
The deadline for applications for the Grand Forks Public School superintendent position is Jan. 3. The hiring consultant, Ray and Associates Inc., will present the semifinalists to the board at its regular meeting Jan. 17 and assist the board in selecting finalists for interviews.
"It's going right according to schedule," St. Onge said. At its next meeting, the board will finish developing questions to ask and also solidify constituency groups to visit with the candidates, he said.
"There's a lot we've got to do between now and our next meeting to facilitate that," Lamb said.
The interim superintendent, Ron Gruwell, will retire at the end of the school year. The board hopes to hire a new superintendent between March and July 1, St. Onge said.
Decker can be reached at (701) 787-6754 or cdecker@gfherald.com .
