Education and Early Childhood Learning

Finance and Statistics

Policy on School Funds

According to the Public Schools Act, subsection 56(4), school funds are moneys that the principal of each school, subject to the rules of the school board, may raise, hold, administer and expend for the purposes of the school.

School funds are comprised of two types of funds, which are described below.

Type A - School Generated Funds

Type A school funds include moneys from all fund raising activities of the school, such as walk-a-thons, bike-a-thons, selling candies, etc., dances, hot dog days, school pictures, bottle drives, car washes, raffles, auctions, etc., etc. These moneys are raised by the school, or under the auspices of the school, through extra curricular activities for the sole use of that school. They are for the most part, to be reported in the school division's financial statements as School Generated Funds. Please refer to the School Generated Funds Accounting Policy for more information on the accounting treatment.

Funds from cafeterias and vending machines that are operated by or contracted out by the student council are student council funds. Funds from cafeterias and vending machines that are operated by or contracted out by the school are Type A school funds.

Type B

Type B school funds include allocations from the school division (per capita grants, budget allocations, specific purpose grants, etc.), vocational revenues (auto shop repairs and service, cosmetology, business education initiatives, etc.), and revenues from cafeterias and vending machines that are operated by or contracted out by the school division. These moneys are often administered by the school division on behalf of the school, but in cases where the school administers them they are considered to be Type B school funds and would fall under the guidelines for school funds. These funds are included in the school division's financial statements as school division moneys.

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Guidelines for School Divisions

1. School boards should establish a policy or guidelines as to what types of expenditures are allowable or appropriate.
2. School boards should develop policies to indicate personal expenses that are allowable and to prohibit payment for inappropriate personal expenses or where there could be a perception of a conflict of interest.
3. Type B funds should be accounted for separately as they are reported in the financial statements of the school division as school division moneys, not as school generated funds.
4. All staff should be required to submit expense reports, complete with copies of receipts, for all advances received.
5. All disbursements should be supported by supplier invoices or receipts.
6. Separate accounting should be maintained for specific purposes.
7. School funds should be reviewed on a rotational basis by the school division's secretary-treasurer (or designate) who shall also ensure that the proper controls and procedures were in place throughout the year. The procedures undertaken to conduct this review should be documented and signed off at the time of the review.
8. The school division should develop detailed guidelines for the control and accounting of all school funds, copies of which will be given to each principal and vice-principal. Included would be the policies and guidelines mentioned in points #1 and #2 above.
9. Financial reports should be submitted to the school board on a regular basis (i.e. monthly, quarterly, etc.). To improve accountability reporting, additional information should be provided to assist in reviewing the financial statements.
10. The divisional external auditor should review the adequacy of the systems and controls established by the secretary-treasurer for school funds and report on same in the Auditor's Supplementary Report.

 

Date issued: November 1993
Updated: January 2007

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