North River School District Repays $22,000 After Special Education Enrollment Overstatement
The North River School District will repay $22,000 to the state after Washington state auditors determined the district had overstated its special education enrollment for the 2024–2025 school year.
A June 18, 2026, audit by the Office of the Washington State Auditor identified weaknesses in the district’s internal oversight, particularly in maintaining complete student evaluation records for special education students.
Under state law, funding for special education programs is tied to enrollment data submitted to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. To be eligible, students must be enrolled, have an up-to-date individualized education program, and have received services by the monthly count date.
During its review, state examiners examined eight student files, covering a total of 40 student count months. They found that several evaluation packets were missing mandatory signature pages—a key compliance element. As a result, auditors concluded the district had reported 24 extra student count months, resulting in a $22,000 overpayment.
For the 2024–2025 year, North River received $53,189 in state special education funding, based on an annual average of 4.55 resident students in the program.
Auditors noted that staffing constraints contributed to the discrepancies. The employee overseeing the special education program held multiple responsibilities and did not allocate sufficient time or resources to ensure all evaluations met documentation standards.
The audit highlighted that the district had no secondary verification processes in place to validate that enrollment figures submitted to OSPI were backed by complete supporting records.
In its formal response to the findings, the district acknowledged the issues and pointed to a former administrator who held the Special Education Director role at the time.
“The district’s previous administrator failed to fulfill the required duties of the Special Education Director,” the district stated, adding that this included ensuring signature pages were consistently included in student files. “Specifically, the administrator failed to ensure that all of the district’s files were completed with signed signature pages as required, resulting in non-compliance, an audit finding, and a $22,000.00 refund for the 2024–25 school year.”
North River School District No. 200 operates a single school serving roughly 69 students across pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in Pacific County. With General Fund operating expenses totaling $2.5 million in fiscal year 2025, officials indicated the one-time repayment would represent a notable strain on the budget.
Rather than issuing a lump sum, the district has asked OSPI to recover the amount through gradual deductions from upcoming apportionment payments.
To strengthen future reporting accuracy, North River has introduced new oversight mechanisms. Since September 1, 2025, the district has partnered with Educational Service District 113’s Special Education Co-op to provide a dedicated special education director. An experienced special education teacher was also brought on board to support program implementation.
State auditors commended the district for its responsiveness and plan to assess the effectiveness of the implemented changes during the next scheduled review.
Auditors found no evidence indicating that the district failed to adhere significantly to state statutes, regulatory requirements, or internal administrative guidelines in the other sections examined during the review.