School district settles with Christmas wreath maker

By OLIVIA KOERNIG / Whitefish Pilot

A wreath fundraiser gone awry last fall was recently put to rest.

In March, Whitefish school district superintendent Jerry House told the Pilot that, if necessary, the district was prepared to enter litigation to recover the money it lost in the deal. But a confidential settlement has been reached.

"We have resolved the issue and the settlement is confidential, as both parties agreed to," House said.

School officials alleged Anthony Moore failed to deliver 680 wreaths within the agreed-upon time frame.

Moore claimed the school switched the drop-off date, resulting in mold growing on the wreaths, which then had to be remade. Ultimately, he said, it was the district's decision to terminate the agreement.

The school had paid Moore $12,000 up-front for the project. The money was taken from the student activity fund, meaning 2008 has seen precious few morale-boosting activities.

The students sold $16,785 in wreaths. The school personally called each individual who had ordered a wreath and offered a reimbursement, although several community members declined a refund.

In the two years prior, smaller-scale wreath fundraisers between Moore and the school ended favorably for both parties. Those fundraisers involved only one grade rather than the entire school.

Former Whitefish Middle School principal Kim Ander-son had made the agreement with Moore. Anderson admitted he had been aware of Moore's two felony convictions for issuing bad checks, but was convinced the district would not encounter problems with him since past fundraisers had proved acceptable.

Another fundraiser between the school and Moore last year also was called into question following the wreath fiasco. In that fundraiser, which involved coupon books, the school alleged it lost several hundred dollars.

Moore's business partner in that venture, Allen Jangula, of Columbia Falls, has brought civil charges against Moore, also alleging he lost money in his dealings with the man.

Whitefish Middle school principal Kerry Drown estimated the school's total losses at more than $13,000.