The Board authorizes the issuance of warrants for payment of claims against the District for goods and services. The Board will allow the warrants after the goods and services have been received and accepted in compliance with Board policy.
Claims for payment of freight, athletic officials, express, postage, printing, water, lights, telephone, rents, and payment of salaries pursuant to the terms of a written contract may be paid by the Board secretary and/or treasurer prior to formal audit and approval by the Board. In addition, the secretary, upon approval of the Superintendent or his designee, may issue warrants for approved registrations, claims offering a discount for early payment, approved travel expenses, approved goods and services delivered C.O.D., and other verified bills filed with the secretary when the Board is not in session prior to payment of these claims and prior to audit and approval by the Board. The Board secretary and/or treasurer shall examine the claims and verify bills.
The secretary will determine to the secretary's satisfaction that the claims presented to the Board are in order and are legitimate expenses of the District. It is the responsibility of the secretary to bring claims to the board.!Thereafter, paid claims shall be entered on record in the regular minutes of the secretary.
The Board president and Board secretary and/or treasurer may sign warrants by use of a signature plate or rubber stamp. If the Board president is unavailable to personally sign warrants, the vice president may sign warrants on behalf of the president.
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Approved: 11/14/67 Reviewed: 3/11/19 Revised: 5/14/12; 7/8/13; 11/18/19
The Board shall only in the case of absolute necessity issue warrants for which there are no funds available for the payment of such warrants. If warrants are issued for which there are no funds available for payment of such warrants, the Treasurer shall institute such procedures as provided by State law.
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Approved: 11/14/67 |
Reviewed: 3/11/19 |
Revised: 5/14/12; 7/8/13 |
The Board acknowledges that expenditures and use of District resources may be needed to support the decision-making process in conducting district business, promote more efficient time frames for conducting business, promulgate a productive working climate, improve personnel well-being and morale, and nurture a positive learning environment. To serve these purposes, the Board supports appropriate expenditures and use of District resources for attainment of the District mission and strategic goals for official District activities and business.
The superintendent or designee may approve payment for the following expenditures:
Expenditures for food items and refreshments:
▪ For district staff for meetings held before normal start times, during the lunch hour, and after normal work times and any time during the day when food and refreshments are served.
▪ For district staff meeting with outside organizations and associations.
▪ For Board members and staff during Board meetings or work sessions.
▪ For Board committees or superintendent committees during meetings.
▪ For recognizing the services of employees, retirees, volunteers or donors.
▪ For staff for recognizing and promoting wellness programs participation and initiatives.
▪ For students to reinforce curriculum goals.
▪ For officials during tournaments.
Expenditures for recognition items:
▪ Given to employees, retirees, or volunteers in recognition of service.
▪ Given to staff to recognize and promote wellness programs participation and initiatives.
▪ Given to students to reinforce curriculum goals.
▪ Given to board members to recognize service.
▪ Given to students as part of an initiative, program, or recognition (i.e. honor roll).
Expenditures for miscellaneous items including:
▪ Donations with the primary objective to further a public purpose even if an incidental private end is advanced.
▪ Refreshments in public areas. In some instances, a building, or part of a building is routinely open to the public for conducting District business. The Superintendent’s Office and school principals’ offices are such locations. Having refreshments of nominal value available to members of the public, such as coffee and other nominal snacks/beverages, are considered a courtesy and are authorized in these specific locations.
▪ Flowers. The use of public funds for the purchase of flowers is restricted to the few occasions where public expression of sympathy or congratulations has been determined by the school board or the superintendent to be in the best interests of the District.
The superintendent or designee may not approve payment for the following expenditures:
▪ Sales tax. The Spirit Lake Community School District is tax exempt. All items purchased by a public school for the school’s own use, qualify for an exemption from sales tax if the items purchased relate to the educational process. The school district will not reimburse for sales tax paid for purchases made on behalf of the school district.
▪ Alcohol. The purchase of alcohol is never an acceptable use of public funds.
▪ Coffee and other beverages. These are normally a personal expense. A voluntary collection can be made from those who would like these items, and/or may be paid from an activity account that gets its source of revenue from employees.
▪ Employee break room supplies such as plastic ware and paper products. A voluntary collection can be made from those who would like these items, and/or may be paid from an activity account that gets its source of revenue from employees.
▪ Individual receptions including retirement dinners, staff meals, welcome aboard receptions, and similar gatherings.
▪ Employee gifts or gift cards for such events as birthdays or special occasions.
▪ Office holiday decorations, holiday cards, or staff holiday parties.
The superintendent is responsible for administrative regulations that define implementation of this policy.
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Approved: 12/8/14 |
Reviewed: 3/11/19 |
Revised: |
The following is a list of examples organized by activity for what is allowable, or not allowable as a purchase/reimbursement using public funds. This regulation is intended as guidance and there may be situations that are not listed here. Any questions regarding the appropriateness of an expenditure should be submitted to administration prior to expending funds.
Reimbursements to an Individual
Use of Credit/Procurement Card: All purchases through a district-owned credit or procurement card shall be pre-approved and comply with the district’s policy 405.2 – Employee Use of Credit Cards.
Mileage: Individuals who are required to travel (other than to and from work) as part of fulfilling their job duties to the district shall be reimbursed for mileage costs in accordance with the requirements stated in the district’s Employee Travel Compensation policy.
Travel accommodations: Employees who are required to travel and stay overnight as part of fulfilling their job duties to the district shall be reimbursed for costs in accordance with the requirements stated in the district’s Employee Travel Compensation policy.
Alcohol: Alcohol is a personal expense and is never allowable for purchase or reimbursement using public funds.
Food/Refreshments: Food and refreshments are typically a personal expense. Meetings spanning meal times should be avoided when possible. When a district meeting is required to take place spanning a customary meal time, the superintendent or designee shall determine whether food and/or refreshment will be provided to employees whose presence is required during the meeting. The cost of food and refreshment for employees shall be reasonable, and when possible, a separate itemized receipt for each employee is required. If an itemized receipt is not available, approval is required by the school business official prior to reimbursement. In all cases, the names and number of employees shall be noted on the receipt.
Apparel/Personal Items: Apparel and personal items including, but not limited to items such as t-shirts, hats, mugs, etc. provide personal benefit to individuals and are a personal expense. These items shall not be purchased or reimbursed with public funds.
Gifts: Gift cards or gifts given to individuals are personal expenses and public funds should not be used (except for recognition/staff retirement, listed below) for these purposes. Voluntary collections from staff would be an acceptable way of purchasing gifts.
Retirement and Recognition Gifts: Recognizing an employee or volunteer’s years of dedication to educating the community and commitment to the district serves a public purpose by honoring individuals with a token gift, or honorarium, in recognition of their service. The same is true for individual awards, mementos, or items purchased in recognition of employee service to the district. These purchases may use public funds, provided the expenditures are modest and approved by the superintendent.
Honoraria: District employees may at times receive an honorarium from an outside source as compensation for the employee’s time devoted to preparing and delivering a presentation within the scope of their professional field. Honorariums may only be accepted by employees when the employee has used their personal time outside of their work for the district to prepare and deliver the presentation. If the employee uses district time or resources to prepare or deliver a presentation, any honorarium shall be given to the district.
Break Room Supplies: The purchase of perishable or disposable supplies for employee break rooms is primarily designed for individual consumption and is a personal expense. This includes items such as coffee, coffee filters, plates, cups, spoons, napkins, etc.
Supplies for Public Areas
Limited refreshments such as water and coffee may be available in public reception areas of the district including, but not limited to the central office, the building administrator’s office, etc. These refreshments may be purchased with the use of public funds, as they provide light refreshment to members of the community.
Staff Parties/Receptions
Parties and receptions to benefit individual staff members are considered a personal expense and should not be purchased or reimbursed with public funds. This includes but is not limited to holiday parties.
Hosting a group reception to honor all employees retiring from the district in a given school year is allowable as a public expense. Hosting a retirement reception provides a direct benefit to the community as an opportunity for the community to attend and honor the retiring employees’ years of dedication and service to the district.
School/ Student Activity Banquets
School/student activity banquets are typically a personal expense and will not be purchased or reimbursed with public funds unless the public purpose is submitted for review and pre-approved by the superintendent.
Memorial Gifts
Memorial flowers to convey sympathy or congratulations are allowable as a public expense if they have been approved by the superintendent. Memorial cards are always appropriate.
Memorial gifts of any sort other than flowers and a card are a personal expense.
Student Incentives
It is within the discretion of the building principal to authorize the purchase of awards holding a nominal value to commemorate the achievements of a student or group of students. These awards should be designed to reward behavior and values that exemplify the educational and community mission of the district. Awards should not be gift cards or other monetary awards.
Flowers and decorations for school dances held as part of the district’s student activity program are an allowable expense paid out of the student activity fund, provided the purchases are approved by the building principal.
Meetings
To the extent possible, meetings which span normal meal times should be avoided.
Meetings of the district’s board of directors and board committees are made up of individuals who volunteer a large amount of their personal time to serve the needs of the school community. These meetings are also scheduled at time most convenient for the public, and often span normal meal hours. Food and refreshment purchased for board members is an acceptable use of public funds. The service of these unpaid volunteers directly benefits the entire school community. The superintendent has discretion to purchase/reimburse reasonable expenses for providing food and refreshment to these unpaid volunteers during these meetings.
Some expenditures will be considered personal expenses regardless of the context. These include purchase or reimbursement of alcohol, and personal items not included as retirement or memorial gifts listed above.
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The board expects all board members, employees, volunteers, consultants, vendors, contractors, students and other parties maintaining any relationship with the school district to act with integrity, due diligence, and in accordance with all laws in their duties involving the school district’s resources. The board is entrusted with public dollars and no one connected with the school district should do anything to erode that trust.
Internal controls are used to help ensure the integrity of district financial and accounting information. Adherence to district-established internal control procedures is the responsibility of all employees of the school district. The superintendent, business manager and board secretary shall be responsible for developing internal controls designed to prevent and detect fraud, financial impropriety, or fiscal irregularities within the school district subject to review and approval by the board. Administrators shall be alert for any indication of fraud, financial impropriety, or irregularity within the administrator’s area of responsibility.
Any employee who suspects fraud, impropriety, or irregularity shall report their suspicions immediately to his/her immediate supervisor and the superintendent. The superintendent or the board president shall have primary responsibility for any necessary investigations and shall coordinate investigative efforts with the board’s legal counsel, auditing firm, the Auditor of State's office and other internal or external departments and agencies, including law enforcement officials, as the superintendent or the board president may deem appropriate.
Employees bringing forth a legitimate concern about a potential impropriety will not be retaliated against and those who do retaliate against such an employee will be subject to disciplinary action up to, and including, discharge.
In the event the concern or complaint involves the superintendent, the concern shall be brought to the attention of the board president or vice-president, who shall be empowered to contact the board’s legal counsel, Auditor of State's office, insurance agent, auditing firm, and any other agency to investigate the concern or complaint.
The superintendent or board president shall ensure the Auditor of State’s office is notified as required by law of any suspected embezzlement, theft or other financial irregularity pursuant to Iowa law. The superintendent and/or board president in coordination with the Auditor of State’s office, will determine whether to conduct a complete or partial audit. The superintendent is authorized to order a complete forensic audit if, in the superintendent’s judgment, such an audit would be useful and beneficial to the school district. In the event there is an investigation, records will be maintained for use in the investigation. Individuals found to have altered or destroyed records will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
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Approved: 12/11/23 Reviewed: Revised:
Fraud, financial improprieties, or fiscal irregularities include, but are not limited to:
Forgery or unauthorized alteration of any document or account belonging to the district.
Forgery or unauthorized alteration of a check, bank draft, or any other financial document.
Misappropriation of funds, securities, supplies, or other assets.
Impropriety in the handling of money or reporting of financial transactions.
Profiteering because of “insider” information of district information or activities.
Disclosing confidential and/or proprietary information to outside parties.
Accepting or seeking anything of material value, other than items used in the normal course of advertising, from contractors, vendors, or persons providing services to the district.
Destroying, removing, or inappropriately using district records, furniture, fixtures, or equipment.
Failing to provide financial records to authorized state or local entities.
Failure to cooperate fully with any financial auditors, investigators or law enforcement.
Any other dishonest or fraudulent act involving district monies or resources.
Acting for purposes of personal financial gain, rather than in the best interest of the district.
Providing false, inaccurate or misleading financial information to district administrators or the board of directors.
The superintendent or board president shall notify the State Auditor's office of any suspected fraud, embezzlement or financial irregularities as required by law. The district will comply with all investigation procedures and scope as directed by the State Auditor's office. All employees involved in the investigation shall be advised to keep information about the investigation confidential. The superintendent or board president may engage qualified independent auditors to assist in the investigation.
If an investigation substantiates the occurrence of a fraudulent activity, the superintendent or the board president, or board vice-president if the investigation centers on the superintendent, shall issue a report to the board and appropriate personnel. The results of the investigation shall not be disclosed to or discussed with anyone other than those individuals with a legitimate right to know until the results are made public.
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