Lewisburg Area School District Policies	Printable version
618 Student Activities Fund 618. STUDENT ACTIVITIES FUND The Board of Directors recognizes its responsibility for the proper fiscal management of all school funds and accounts. The Board directs the Superintendent to establish administrative regulations and guidelines for all student activities. I. Organizational Structure and Responsibilities The organizational structure and position responsibilities of the Student Activities Fund are outlined below. • The Board is responsible for the establishment of policies in compliance with state laws. • The Superintendent is responsible for implementing policies. • The principal of each school is responsible for working with students and faculty advisors, implementing policies and regulations, and administering fiscal procedures. • The Director of Administrative Services is responsible for prescribing appropriate accounting procedures. • The fiscal officer, to be designated by the principal of each building, shall maintain appropriate fiscal records related to the student activity funds and work with club advisors and elected club officers. It is the responsibility of the club officers and advisor to follow all regulations within the School Code and procedures in the Student Activity Fund Handbook. • Faculty advisors shall be responsible for working with students in specific activities and for carrying out administrative regulations. • Students who choose to participate in activities should be involved in the fiscal management of those activities. This is a learning activity that may benefit interested pupils. All activity groups will elect student officers, including a treasurer, who will work with the faculty advisor in carrying out financial procedures that are established. A. Financial Planning Representatives of student organizations and faculty advisors will participate in the preparation of an annual budget related to their activity. The student activity budget will be submitted to the building principal by October 1st of each year. The principal will have the authority to revise or adjust the budgets as appropriate. Budgets should serve as the fiscal plan for the coming year's activities. Actual receipts and disbursements can be compared with the budget plan to determine solvency of each activity. B. Student Activities Fund A Student Activities Fund will be operated at each building level and will include separate ledger accounts for different activities. Ledger accounts will be operated by student organizations and classes under the supervision of faculty advisors. In no case should the Student Activities Fund be used as a source of petty cash. Ledger accounts can be added to the Student Activities Fund for specific activities as needed with the approval of the principal. C. Student Body Account The Student Activities Fund will also include a Student Body Account. Some student revenue is not generated through a specific activity and may be placed in the Student Body Account within the Student Activities Fund. This account will include revenue from the following sources: 1. Commissions for administering sales. 2. Donations from student or parent groups. 3. Funds from inactive club/organization accounts. 4. Sales from vending machines. (Excluding faculty room venders.) Revenue sources from this account should be kept at a level that would not exceed the expected expenses for the period of time a student spends at that building. The money disbursed from this account should be spent for the general welfare of the student body following the guidelines outlined below: 1. The purpose of the expenditure should not provide for items normally funded through the General Fund. 2. While it is not mandatory for all students to have a direct benefit, the majority of the students should have the opportunity to benefit or the membership of the student organization shall approve the disbursement. (ex. flowers for a death, or Student Council State Meeting) 3. The decision of disbursement should not be made unilaterally. A Student Body Account Committee comprised of students (at the secondary level), faculty advisors, and administrative representatives, must be in agreement. D. Non-School Funds The Student Activities Fund will not include accounts such as faculty accounts, booster club accounts, PSA or PTSA accounts, and monies that individuals, parent groups, or faculty groups collect and disburse. In addition, no principal, faculty advisor, or employee will maintain a checking account or other cash fund for pupils involving funds that “belong” to the district or students of the district. E. Audit Control The Director of Administrative Services and the business office will perform internal audits. The building fiscal officer will monitor accounts by a day-to-day checking of receipts, invoices, and procedures. The principal will have the monthly reports/reconciliation developed by the fiscal officer. External audits will be conducted as indicated by Section 2401 of the School Code. II. General Operating Procedures A. Use of Activities Funds The Student Activities Fund should not be used for small cash and check needs of other funds and organizations, even though it may be more difficult or cumbersome to deposit or withdraw money from non-activity funds. The Student Activities Fund should be used solely for its intended purposes. B. Initiating Accounts/Terminating Accounts As new programs, clubs, or organizations are formed, principals may establish new ledger accounts. New ledger accounts should not be established solely for individual charitable drives. Requests to the principals should be in writing and should occur only after a need for a new financial account is determined. Principals may terminate, at any time, any inactive account that has a zero balance, or the appropriate faculty advisor may request the principal to terminate an account. This request, in writing, should also state the planned disposition of any money or materials that remain in the closed account. C. Payments All payments for Student Activities Fund purchases should be made by check. No expenses should be paid in cash directly from gate receipts, dues collections, sales, or other cash receipts. D. Deposits and Payment Vouchers All clubs and organizations who conduct fundraising activities must deposit money earned into their account using a deposit voucher. Payments of bills and invoices from the account are requested by using a payment voucher. Each student treasurer and advisor must sign the vouchers. Financial statements will be submitted to the Board at least quarterly. Yearly audits are conducted when all other financial accounts of the district are audited by representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and independent auditors. Periodic reports are provided to organizations and a final report is provided when the books are closed out at the end of each fiscal year (June 30). SC 511(d) E. Signatures on Checks Two (2) signatures are required on all checks. The building principal and another eligible co-signer will sign each check. The fiscal officer will write all checks and will not be an eligible co-signer for checks generated from the Student Activities Fund. The persons signing checks shall require invoices or other evidence of obligation, properly approved by the faculty advisor and student treasurer of the activity, before signing the check. These documents should be reviewed by the fiscal officer prior to making payment and should be recorded in the Student Activities Fund and account ledger. No checks should be signed until they are filled out completely, including the date, name of payee and amount. F. Interest Income Student Activities Funds should be deposited in an interest-bearing account or otherwise invested in interest-earning investments permitted by the School Code. Money market funds that invest in securities approved for school investments are presently available in Pennsylvania. School districts, with Board approval, may invest in these money market funds, which also permit the direct issuance of checks so that earnings accrue while the checks are clearing. These, along with NOW accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and other approved investments, will earn interest for invested Student Activities Fund cash balances. Interest income from these investments should be credited to ledger accounts within the Student Activities Fund by pro-rating interest earnings and distributing them to each ledger account by a predetermined method of distribution. SC 4401 G. Internal Controls The greatest protection of funds comes from effective internal controls; however, the following guidelines should be used to protect cash: 1. Receipts should be written for the faculty advisor or student treasurer when money is received by the fiscal officer via a deposit voucher so its arrival is established for accounting and insurance purposes. This should be done without delay and without concern for reconciling the cash account later. A duplicate receipt book, machine, or cash register should be used so the office fiscal officer retains copies of the receipts. 2. Deposit tickets should be written in triplicate by the fiscal officer when money is received. This should be done without delay. A duplicate deposit ticket is given to the faculty advisor immediately upon deposit with the bank and the organization’s account name should be written on the deposit ticket. 3. Cash receipts should be deposited as soon as possible in the bank. 4. School safes may be used for protecting money during the day. Amounts kept in safes overnight should be minimal. Large amounts in safes overnight can encourage attempted robberies, which may do damage that is more costly to repair than the money being safeguarded. 5. Large money receipts should be deposited in an overnight bank depository rather than in the school. H. Loans and Purchases Student Activities Funds shall not be used to make loans for any purpose to persons other than pupils. Each building level may wish to establish policy concerning emergency loans to pupils for lunches and similar items. Student Activities Funds should not be used to make purchases for any school employee or other person. I. Payments to Individuals Any employee or contracted individual paid by the Student Activities Fund must be paid within IRS Regulations and have all appropriate deductions completed. Individuals that are paid for service to a student activity organization will be paid via the district’s General Fund for tax reporting purposes. A check must be written from the Student Activities Fund to the General Fund as reimbursement for these payments. J. Bidding All purchases of materials and supplies will be completed in accordance with Section 511 of the School Code. Please see the Student Activity Fund Handbook for details. K. Contracts Student groups may obligate themselves by contracts for materials, equipment, or services with the approval of the principal, provided that legal requirements for bidding and strict policies are followed. Contracts, presented by vendors such as musical groups and yearbook publishers, should be reviewed by the principal and the district's purchasing agent and/or legal counsel as mandated by the school code. L. Unused Funds When the interest of membership in a student club or organization, funded by the students themselves, declines to the point where organizational activities cease, and there is a financial balance in the account, the balance may be transferred to the Student Body Account. Graduating classes must close out their accounts or transfer their accounts to the Student Body Account, within thirty (30) days of the start of the following school year. After this time period has lapsed, any remaining balance will be automatically transferred to the Student Body Account. All funds from student activity accounts must be used for school or educational purposes. Post-graduation activities or reunion related purchases are not permissible under the law. All assets purchased through student activity accounts are considered property of the school district. M. Scholarship Funds Section 511 of the School Code permits raising and disbursing funds for scholarships and awards under the Student Activities Fund. Scholarship and memorial funds may be properly accounted for as Trust Funds, particularly when large principal amounts are held from year to year. The State Manual of Accounting describes the use of and accounting for trust funds. N. Fundraising All fundraising projects must have the approval of the building-level principal. This will prevent the community from being inundated with sales and establish what sales are appropriate for which clubs or organizations. Projects must be established in advance of approvals for fundraisers. The following must be considered prior to requesting approval: 1. What limits should be set for the fundraiser, if any? 2. What purposes are appropriate for the use of the funds? 3. What happens if a project, which is the reason for the fundraiser, is cancelled? Caution is required that in-school sales of food or drink do not conflict with cafeteria sales or the Wellness Policy. O. Property Disposition If the Student Activities Fund has any surplus or unneeded material or property, it should be disposed of following the policy of the district. Proceeds from the sales of Student Activities Fund property should be returned to the Student Activities Fund. P. Sales Tax Pennsylvania sales tax will be collected and remitted according to state law. This is applicable particularly for school-store sales and book sales. Appropriate forms for remitting sales tax are available from the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Q. Fines and Fees Library fines and fees, and fees not returned, lost-textbook fees, and charges for lost athletic equipment are examples of monies that must be returned to the General Fund and should not be part of the Student Activities Fund. R. Commissions While the purchase of items for which commissions are paid should be discouraged, it is common practice that commissions are paid on sales of items such as pictures. Commissions may be returned to a specific ledger account or to the Student Body Account. References: School Code – 24 P.S. Sec. 440.1, 504, 511 Board Policy – 000, 608, 619, 811 Administrative Regulation – 618-AG