The Eden Valley-Watkins School Board received good news Monday in the form of its annual district audit.

The audit of the 2007-08 fiscal year indicated the EV-W district increased its unreserved general fund balance from $161,481 to $446,211 over the course of the year. That’s a significant increase from just two years ago when the unreserved balance was $73,000.

Superintendent Larry Peterson said the general fund increase can be attributed to budget cuts and an unexpected increase in enrollment. In 2007-08, the district open enrolled 190 students from neighboring school districts while losing 100 for a positive margin of 90 kids.

“That’s the most that we’ve ever been up. That’s what ended up giving us the extra cushion,” Peterson said Tuesday. The district’s reserved general fund balance is $587,982.

During the past few years, the district has cut approximately $500,000 from its annual budget, including staff, administration and support services. The cuts, Peterson said, have put the district is much stronger financial standing.

In 2007-08, the district reported revenues of $7,746,000 with expenditures of $7,599,000. District expenditures per pupil ($8,696) were below the state average of $9,364, Peterson said.

“We’re running a system that we don’t have a lot of fluff,” he added.