Question: May an ASB donate money to the district M&O department to make improvements to the baseball field and to increase safety (fencing in front of dugouts, batting cage nets, etc.)?
Response: ASB organizations have tremendous flexibility and discretion in how they may use their funds, but the general rule is that the funds need to be used to purchase goods and services that promote the general welfare, morale and educational experiences of the students. It is important that the principal or the ASB advisor is involved when questions come up like this about whether an item is an appropriate use of ASB funds, as their role is to guide the student in properly using the funds. Because of their important role, they must also understand the general rules that govern the use of these funds.
Expenditures that are directly linked to the students' benefit and are outside of what the district must provide are allowable purchases of ASB organizations. But items that do not directly promote the general welfare, morale, or educational experience of the students are not allowable, which includes those salaries or expenditures that the district has usually paid for in the past, or repair and maintenance of district-owned equipment that the district has paid for in the past but is not able to in a specific year due to budget cuts or any other reason. It is not allowable to shift the funding source from the district to the associated student body because of budget cuts, which we find is causing most of the questions related to associated student body funds at this point.
In the case that you cite, the ASB donating money to the district M&O department to make improvements to the baseball field and to increase safety (fencing in front of dugouts, batting cage nets, etc.), you need to ask yourself: Who has paid for these types of expenditures in the past? If it is the district, it is not allowable for the student body to pick up the cost now. But if these are new expenditures that the students feel they must incur to improve the student body organization as a whole and the students vote yes on the expenditure, it would be allowable. You need to look at the past and test the reasonableness of the expenditure. Then you need to turn to your students, your ASB advisor and your independent auditor to ensure they are allowable. The independent auditor reviews student body accounts annually during their fieldwork. Because of that, whenever you have questionable expenditures like the one that you have asked FCMAT about, it is a good idea to check with the auditor on this questionable expenditure. This way you may be able to avoid a potential future finding in the audit if the auditors do not agree that the expenditure is appropriate.
2/10/03
