District, wreath-maker resolve dispute

The Whitefish School District recently reached a settlement with a local businessman district officials say owed students more than $13,000.

Neither District Superintendent Jerry House nor wreath-maker Tony Moore of Kalispell would discuss the settlement; a confidentiality agreement prohibits their discussing the matter.

"There has been a resolution reached," House said, "but the terms are confidential."

Moore also confirmed that the issue has been resolved.

"It's been resolved to the school's satisfaction," he said. "They got what they wanted."

The district was seeking money officials say Moore owed the students of Whitefish Middle School.

According to administrators, Moore failed to deliver 680 wreaths he agreed to make for a middle school fundraiser last fall. Whitefish Middle School refunded the money community members paid for their wreaths but didn't receive a refund from Moore.

It cost the school's activity fund more than $13,000, Principal Kerry Drown told the Inter Lake in March.

In spring 2007, Moore and then-Principal Kim Anderson discussed having a wreath fundraiser in the fall. Moore had supplied wreaths for Whitefish fundraisers in 2005 and 2006. Both were smaller than the 2007 fundraiser, and the school had no problems with Moore or his products, Anderson told the Inter Lake in March.

Their agreement last spring was verbal only, and Anderson took a job in Sheridan, Wyo., before the two men could hammer out the details.

Moore said in March that he had expected the fundraiser would run like the previous two fundraisers had. Students sold wreaths during September and turned their orders in by Oct. 3, according to Drown.

The school paid Moore more than $12,000 up front to cover the cost of supplies and labor. That money was supposed to cover Moore's employees' wages, Drown told the Inter Lake in March.

Moore said he thought he was supposed to deliver 90 percent of the wreaths Thanksgiving weekend, just as he had done in past fundraisers. According to Moore, the school told him not to deliver the wreaths because Drown was out of town.

Drown, however, said Moore knew all along not to deliver the wreaths that weekend. The original agreement asked Moore to deliver the wreaths Nov. 28, the Wednesday after Thanksgiving break.

That wasn't the original delivery time, according to Moore. He said in March that when the school changed the delivery date, 247 wreaths got moldy. He could not replace them by Nov. 28.

The men rescheduled, and then rescheduled again. On Dec. 10, with Christmas break fast approaching, Moore had completed only 60 wreaths, Drown said.

Drown and House called Moore that day. According to House, they told Moore there was no need for wreaths if he couldn't deliver them until Christmas break. According to Moore, the administrators told him to stop making wreaths.

Because the school wasn't going to receive the wreaths, officials wanted Moore to return the money they'd already paid him. The school had to refund customers' money; even though several people donated the money back, the student activity fund was in the red.

In addition to the money the school paid Moore, it spent about $600 on prizes it had promised students for selling the wreaths. That left the activity fund - used for assemblies and morale-building and climate-boosting "extras" - about $13,000 in the hole, Drown said.

According to Drown, Moore told administrators he already had spent the money they'd paid him and that he had to fire employees before the project's completion because he had run out of money.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.