Byron board says auditor concerns addressed
Fri, 12/12/2025 - 8:04am
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By:
KAREN M. JORGENSEN EDITOR
Byron administrators and school board members say concerns raised in a letter from the state auditor were addressed before it was received.
Officials discussed the letter, as well as measures taken to resolve the issues, during a work session last week.
Superintendent Nate Walbruch said that the district received a letter on Oct. 28 that listed concerns about its handling of credit card purchases made between July 1, 2023, and the end of December 2024. The letter said the auditor’s office had found that about 30% or roughly $60,000 of the district’s credit card purchases during the period were either not supported with receipts or not itemized as required by law.
According to district procedures, he said, the letter was first directed to the Budget Committee, which did not have a meeting scheduled until mid-November.
In the meantime, the auditor’s office sent out a news release regarding the letter sent to the district.
That release caused some district residents to express concern that the letter was sent to the district on Oct. 28, but the contents were not made public by the school district until after the Nov. 4 levy referendum.
At last week’s board meeting, members said they understood why people were alarmed and thought the district might be hiding something. The timing was unfortunate, according to the board, and the issues had already been dealt with before the letter from the state went out.
Several new board members had taken their positions on the school board after the November 2024 elections; Walbruch began his duties as superintendent on July 1, 2025, and a new finance director has recently been hired.
In a letter sent to families, Walbruch said that the district had cancelled credit cards and adopted a p-card policy requiring receipts to be itemized, reviewed and approved by the finance department prior to payment.The purchase of gift cards is now strictly prohibited, and a new Purchase Order process requires all POs to have detailed descriptions. Open POs are no longer allowed. The district also now requires a detailed listing of all p-card purchases be given to the school board’s treasurer and has eliminated a number of charge accounts to vendors.
Those actions, Walbruch said during the work session, were made before the letter from the auditor was received.
When the district received the letter, Walbruch said, the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office contacted the administration to say it had also received the letter. The county attorney contacted the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the situation and determined no crime had been committed.
The district also heard from the Inspector General’s Office of the Minnesota Department of Education, which asked for the same information the auditor had reviewed. That information was sent, Walbruch said, but there has been no further contact with the MDE.
In response to a board question, Walbruch said the district has not been asked by the auditor to supply information beyond December 2024. Board members also said that it would be beneficial if the auditor would send a letter to the district saying that the issue is closed.
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