District takes cautious approach with budget

Cloquet school board members unanimously passed the closest thing to a balanced budget the school district has seen in years, with only $2,366 in the red for the unassigned general fund versus a projected deficit of $514,000 this time last year.

“This is probably the lowest or as close to a balanced budget as I’ve seen,” said district finance director Candace Nelis. The unassigned general fund includes salaries, benefits and most items administrators and school board members have more control over, versus items such as food services, transportation and long-term facilities maintenance. The tot...