Yellowknife (Oct 03/03) - The Yellowknife 1 district school board is more than a million dollars short of the surplus its own policies require it to have.

The board's surplus as of June 30 was $1.257 million short of the $1.6 million which should be in reserve.

Auditor John Laratta reported Sept. 25 the district did not have the five to 10 per cent surplus required by board policy.

As of June 30 the surplus stood at $343,000. Board policy requires a $1.6 million annual surplus, says Petra Elliot, manager of finance for Yellowknife 1 district.

Trustee Dan Schofield pointed out that the board maintained programming and staffing levels at the expense of the surplus.

He admitted that the board was lacking capital, but insisted trustees spent wisely during their three-year term.

"Everyone can see that there are brighter skies ahead," trustee Maureen Miller said of the report.