FILE: DJE-P
SCHOOL LEVEL PURCHASES
When needs arrive at the school or central office/other parish level facility, a principal or central office administrator has two pre-approved sources from which to draw funds to meet these needs:
School Activity Fund -- A bank account maintained at the school level
Principal’s Discretionary Building and Equipment (B&E) Fund – Board Approved Special Revenue Fund Budget and/or General Fund (Central Office Administrator)
The funds at the disposal of each school principal or central office administrator shall be for materials and supplies, operational activities, and minor to moderate repairs and upkeep of grounds. The principal’s or central office administrator’s discretionary B&E fund/General Fund is set by the School Board via budget adoption.
Typically, there are also funds held in reserve that are available for a school district for which a budget is not adopted (capital project funds). There are also funds available that were not allocated in an existing budget (non-discretionary B&E) that can be utilized when an unforeseen event occurs such as building or equipment outages/damage, or a capital improvement need presents itself in a relatively short time span. There is also usually a General Fund - Fund Balance that can be utilized for unforeseen needs and/or emergencies.
In order to utilize the funds described above, the principal or central office administrator shall send a single email describing the requested expenditure to:
The Superintendent of Sabine Parish School Board
School Board Member(s) of the Administrator’s District (if school level)
Finance Director of the Sabine Parish School Board
This email shall create a paper trail and give the requesting party an opportunity to describe the need while communicating factors related to the request. It shall serve as an introduction and will keep all involved parties informed.
In addition to sending the email described above, the principal or central office administrator shall complete a Request for Purchase Outside of Budgeted Amounts. This form shall be provided by the business office to each school principal or central office administrator. This step signifies a formal request and allows a consistent process to seek necessary approval to spend funds outside of a principal’s or central office administrator’s allotment.
All funds outside of the principal’s or central office administrator’s discretion shall have the Superintendent’s signature giving approval before the funds can be committed. Furthermore, agreements and commitments with vendors shall not be made until the Superintendent’s approval is obtained in writing. The Superintendent may choose to approve, deny, or send the request before the Sabine Parish School Board at its next regular meeting. A School Board member shall not act in an individual capacity to obligate or approve expenditures or commit any funds of any individual school or central office/other parish level facility.
In emergency situations (limited and similar in nature to HVAC or plumbing outages) that could put a school or central office/other parish level facility in a non-operational capacity or create a hardship on staff/students, the principal or central office administrator shall send the email and immediately call the Superintendent for a verbal approval to move forward. This does not take away the principal’s or central office administrator’s obligation to complete and submit the required request form, it simply expedites urgent matters.
It is preferable for expected improvements, alterations, or renovations that are not part of the principal’s or central office administrator’s allotment to be submitted in time for a budget amendment, or if funded out of a capital project fund, for the School Board to formally approve the project. As the agency head, the Superintendent shall have the sole discretion to immediately approve capital expenditures on public works under $250,000 that are consistent and congruent with the mission of the School Board as projects under that amount should also be under 5% of the annual operating budget of the Sabine Parish School Board. School Board policy EBG, Repairs and Maintenance, and the Louisiana Bid Law should also be considered when large projects are being approved.
New policy: October 19, 2015
Revised: September 14, 2020
Ref: Board minutes, 10-19-15, 9-14-20
Sabine Parish School Board