Printable Version
#3114

 
SUSQUEHANNA TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17109

POLICY

STUDENT ACTIVITIES FUNDS AND ACCOUNTS

            The policy of the Susquehanna Township School District regarding student activities funds and accounts shall be as follows.

Organizational Responsibilities

1. The Board of School Directors is charged with responsibilities for adopting and enforcing reasonable rules and regulations regarding the management, supervision, control, and prohibition of activities related to the school program, including raising and disbursing funds for any or all such purposes.

2. The Board of School Directors is charged with the responsibility of adopting and enforcing reasonable rules and regulations regarding the organization, management, supervision, control, financing, or prohibition of organizations, clubs, societies, of groups of the members of any class or school within the school district.

3. The Superintendent, as chief school administrator, is responsible for implementing policies and establishing administrative regulations for student activities funds and accounts.

4. The Principal of each school is responsible for working with students and faculty advisers, implementing policies and regulations, administering fiscal procedures and ensuring that appropriate fiscal records are maintained.
   

5. The Business Manager is responsible for prescribing appropriate accounting procedures and for internal auditing of student activities accounts.

6. Faculty advisers are responsible for working with students in specific activities and for carrying out administrative regulations.
   

7. The District Bookkeeper shall be designated as the custodian of the funds in the student activities account and shall be bonded appropriately.

8. Student activities account funds should be raised by students and expended for purposes related to the overall school program as deemed appropriate and permissible under District Policy #5033 (Fundraising). Student participation in the decision making process regarding the raising and expenditure of student activities funds is mandatory in the school district.

Student Activities

1. All student activity groups, clubs, and organizations must be related to the school program, i.e., they must have as their basic purpose the intellectual, social, and physical development of the students or the furtherance of the general goals of the school and/or school district.
   

2. All student activity groups, clubs, and organizations must have a written constitution setting forth the purpose of the organization and a set of by-laws detailing the governance and operations of the organization.

3. The by-laws of the organization must specify the methods by which funds are raised and the purposes for and methods of the disbursement of funds.
   

4. The faculty adviser is responsible for seeing that all funds are raised and disbursed in compliance with the constitution and by-laws of the organization.

5. The student treasurer of the organization and faculty adviser are responsible for maintaining complete and accurate records of all funds raised and disbursed.

Fund Raising

1. The Principal of the school must approve the method of fund raising for all student activity groups, clubs, and organizations; furthermore, the Principal, in conjunction with the Superintendent, is responsible for scheduling fund raising activities as to avoid conflicts in dates with other student organization fund raising drives.
   

2. All fund raising activities must have a specific purpose. In most cases, funds raised by a student organization should be earmarked for disbursement during the school year in which they are raised.

3. No student organization is permitted to raise funds by illegal means such as, but not limited to, gambling devices, games of chance, and lottery tickets.
   

4. Funds collected by all student organizations shall be turned in by the faculty adviser to the Principal’s office before the end of each school day and a receipt received therefrom. These funds are to be forwarded to the district’s business office for deposit as soon thereafter as possible. No large amounts of cash should be kept in a school safe or vault overnight.

5. All revenues of a student organization must be clearly identified and documented at the time that it is turned in to the Principal. Such documentation must become a permanent part of the records of the organization.

Depository

1. All funds raised by student organizations shall be deposited in a Student Activities Account in a bank (s) designated by the Board of School Directors.
   

2. No school sponsored student organization is permitted to establish an account separate from the Student Activities Account. All student organization financial transactions must be made through the designated Student Activities Account.

3. Interest earnings within the student activity account will be prorated to each respective group on a semi-annual basis based upon account balances of each respective group.

Disbursements

1. Student activities accounts funds must be used exclusively for purposes directly related to the objectives of the organization as contained in the constitution and by-laws of the organization.

2. All expenditures of student activity account funds must be authorized by an affirmative vote of a majority of a quorum of the membership as defined in the by-laws of the organization.

3. All disbursements from the student activities fund must be made by check. Disbursements should be supported by invoices or other documentation that is verified. No expenses should be paid in cash from the revenues of the organization.

4. Checks will be issued by the custodian “Bookkeeper” of the student activities fund only after a complete and accurate check request form has been submitted. The check request form must be signed by the authorized student organization officer, faculty adviser, and principal.

5. No checks will be issued by the custodian of the Student Activities Account if funds of the individual student organization are not available, i.e., one student organization cannot draw upon the funds of another student organization in the Student Activities Account.

6. All checks drawn on the Student Activities Account must possess the School Board Treasurer’s signature. No checks should be signed until they are filled out completely, including the date, name of payee, and amount.

7. Any expenditure involving materials or supplies exceeding $1,000.00 (or the amount established by the legislature) cannot be made until a minimum of three (3) bids or quotations are solicited from vendors. All bids and quotations must be in writing and kept on file by the student organization.
    
   
8. All contracts between student organizations and vendors must be approved by the Principal. Contracts involving significant expenditures of student activities account funds should be reviewed by the school district business manager and the solicitor.

9. Senior classes must have expended all funds in their account as of the date of their graduation, i.e., each senior class must have a zero balance and its account terminated immediately upon the date of their graduation.

10. No funds from the Student Activities Account shall be used to make loans to persons or organizations.

11. No funds from the Student Activities Account shall be used to make purchases for any individual or other organization. It is unlawful and contrary to the policy of the school district for funds in the Student Activities Account to be used to make privileged or tax-free purchases for any school employee or other person.

Records and Auditing

1. The faculty adviser and student organization officers are responsible for the collection and maintenance of records regarding the revenue and expenditure of funds from the Student Activities Account.

2. Each month, the Business Manger shall be responsible for submitting a statement detailing the deposits and expenditures from the Student Activities Account. Additionally, the student Activities Account should be reconciled monthly with the bank statements.

3. The Principal is responsible for a regular internal audit of the financial records of each student organization and a determination as to whether or not funds are being expended in compliance with the objectives, constitution, and by-laws of the organization.

4. The Student Activity Account shall be audited yearly by the firm of certified public accountants employed by the school district.

Initiating and Terminating Accounts

1. The Principal is authorized to increase the number of organizations with funds in the Student Activities Account when a bonafide school organization is formed. However, the Principal must review the constitution and by-laws of the student organization to ascertain whether or not its purpose is related to the overall school program and its system of governance provides for student participation in the decision making process prior to the organization’s raising and expending funds.

2. New accounts should not be formed for a one time or short term activity. All student organizations with funds in the Student Activities Account should have long-range goals and objectives related to the overall school program.

3. The Principal is authorized to close the accounts of student organizations which are no longer functioning or active. All organizations which plan to cease operating should expend all of their funds on a legitimate organization-oriented or school-oriented activity or project and thus disband with a zero balance.

4. The Principal may request authorization from the Superintendent to transfer funds from the account of any long time inactive organization to the account of the Student Council of the school. However, every effort should be made to have a zero balance in the account of any organization which no longer plans to function.

5. The accounts of all senior high school classes will be terminated as of the day of their graduation. The faculty adviser and principal are responsible for ensuring a zero balance in such accounts as of the day of their graduation. In the event that there is a balance remaining within a senior high school class account, the balance should be prorated to other classes on a pro-rata basis as stipulated within the Depository section of this policy.