FILE: JHB
STUDENT ACTIVITIES FUNDS MANAGEMENT
The Lafayette Parish School Board recognizes that from time to time schools must attempt to generate funds to supply needed instructional materials and supplies, as well as provide other benefits to the school and student body. All fees, fundraising activities, and other sources of student activity funds managed directly by the school shall require approval of the Superintendent and/or his/her designee.
General cash controls, receipt and disbursement of all monies, reports, and other accounting practices to be followed shall be in accordance with procedures outlined by the Superintendent and staff. All teachers, principals, and any other school personnel who handle cash, receipts, or disbursements of school funds shall be required to abide by the stated guidelines.
FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES
The Lafayette Parish School Board recognizes that citizens, students, School Board personnel, other persons and organizations may wish to express support for a particular school or the school system by participating in school-sanctioned fundraising activities. The School Board shall require that such fundraising projects be conducted so that they do not interfere with educational objectives or community standards.
Any school club or organization shall request permission from the principal and approval of the Superintendent or his/her designee prior to engaging in a fundraising activity. The principal shall submit to the Superintendent or his/her designee a Request for Fundraising disclosing a need for the fundraising project. Plans for such activities should be made well in advance of the event, and the total fundraising efforts in a school shall be limited based on needs.
The School Board shall not permit door-to-door soliciting or sales involving students at any grade level. However, this prohibition does not preclude organized off-campus fundraising activities done under the direct supervision of faculty, booster groups, or other adults, if such activities are approved by the principal. Other special sales or solicitations for advertisements may be conducted by phone or mail. If personal visits by students become necessary, they shall be restricted to businesses only, and the students must be in groups of at least two (2).
MATCHING FUND GRANT PROGRAM
To encourage the participation in and efforts of booster organizations, school clubs and organizations and parent-teacher groups (hereinafter collectively referred to as fund-raising organizations) in supporting its school, the Lafayette Parish School Board has established and shall operate a Matching Fund Grant Program. Under the program, the School Board shall match on a dollar-by-dollar basis those funds generated by fund-raising organizations through approved activities subject to certain conditions.
The School Board shall allocate within its annual capital projects fund budget an amount available that year for matching fund grants, and grants totaling in excess of that amount cannot be made without specific vote of the School Board to do so.
The purposes for which the Matching Fund Grant monies shall be used by a school must relate to facility and/or capital-type improvements at the school and must be approved by the principal and Superintendent. Approval of a two-thirds (⅔) majority of the School Board shall be necessary for the allocation of funds to each project approved.
Each request for permission to initiate fund-raising activities for which matching grant funds from the School Board are sought shall include a description of the project to be undertaken and/or items to be purchased with the funds, and an estimate of the costs associated with such projects/purchases. Requests shall not be accepted after December 1 of each year, and an effort must be made to complete the project/purchase within the same fiscal year.
To qualify for matching grant funds, the fund-raising organization shall agree to spend the total amount (both collected funds and matching grant funds) on the approved project/purchase.
More than one (1) fund-raising activity with request for matching grant funds may be approved for a school in the same fiscal year, but no individual school shall receive more than 10% of the budgeted amount of matching grant funds available in any fiscal year. In the event that insufficient funds have been budgeted to cover all such Matching Fund Grant requests, then those requests from schools that have not previously received such grants shall be given priority consideration.
CHARITY FUNDRAISERS
Charity fundraising drives shall not be permitted within the schools.
Adopted: October 7, 2015
Revised: October 11, 2017
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:196, 17:414.3, 17:2091, 17:2092, 17:2093, 24:515, 39:1301, 39:1302, 39:1303, 39:1304, 39:1305, 39:1306, 39:1307, 39:1308, 39:1309, 39:1310, 39:1311, 39:1312, 39:1313, 39:1314, 39:1315, 42:1101, 42:1102, 42:1116, 42:1121, 51:224
Louisiana Handbook for School Administrators, Bulletin 741, Louisiana Department of Education
Board minutes, 10-7-15, 10-11-17
Lafayette Parish School Board