The Wright City R-II School District met all expectations with its use of federal stimulus money. Wright City Superintendent Dr. Chris Gaines was informed via e-mail that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) would be monitoring the district’s use of federal stimulus money it had received. “With what is called the state stabilization funds, we received some of that money,” he said. “We were selected to be monitored and we had no findings. We spent everything like we were supposed to spend it. “We were good stewards of the taxpayer dollars,” Gaines added. Wright City R-II Business Manager Konee Box said the district received money for two state fiscal stabilization fund categories. “We received $28,795 for transportation and $555,559 for foundation, which pays for salaries and benefits,” she said. Box said the monitoring was in-depth. “They (DESE) sent us a spreadsheet with a self-monitoring tool with about 10 items on it and they wanted to know if our accounting records were separated from our funding sources like federal and state, so they knew it was spent on stabilization funds,” she said. “Our records had to show the amount of funds, how we used the funds and expenditures traced back to a source document,” Box added. “We also had to spend the funds within three days of receipt, which is required by the Cash Management Improvement Act.” Box said DESE inquired about the district’s conduction of the A-133 audit and informed the district that a retention plan for stabilization records must be kept. Roger Dorson, DESE coordinator of school financial and administrative services, said selecting districts to monitor was not random in process and the method for selecting districts was approved by the federal government. “We narrowed the stabilization money down to 11 on-site reviews and 111 desk reviews, which is what Wright City was a part of,” he said. “There are a variety of different factors such as the amount of the stabilization money received and funds and balances for the school district. There are five, six, seven criteria that we use with a point system and the 111 districts with the highest number of points were monitored.” Although the monitoring returned no violations, Gaines said it would have no effect on any future money the district may receive. “It was just really an affirmation that we’re spending money appropriately, wisely and within the rules that are there for us to spend funds,” he said. Gaines said while the stimulus money has been helpful, it has not come without its share of burdens. “There are a lot of things that come with it,” he said. “There is extra paperwork and a lot of extra stuff and it’s been a challenge, but it’s all good because all is well that ends well.”