Question: I seem to recall reading somewhere that athletic uniforms should be purchased through the district. Is it okay for booster clubs and/or ASB's to purchase athletic uniforms directly and gift them to the school, as opposed to gifting the money to the school and having uniforms purchased through the district? What about purchases of equipment, e.g. scoreboards for the athletic field, dirt to maintain the softball field, etc.?
Response: As you know, booster clubs by nature are designed to assist the school and/or ASB, and such assistance may come in the form of donations of supplies, equipment and transportation.
When a booster club wishes to give the ASB or one of its clubs money for supplies (including athletic uniforms), the district should purchase the supplies and the booster club should reimburse the district. The purchase should be carried out through the district’s purchasing system by a district-designated individual who is authorized to spend the funds, with the site administrator’s approval. The purchase should be charged to a school account code, and the purchase requisition should contain the following information in bold:
PAID BY:
Booster Club Name
Person responsible for Booster Club
Billing address
The purchase should be charged to the school account code on the requisition at the time of payment, and the district office should bill the booster club for the amount of the supplies purchased. We would always suggest that the booster club donate the money to the district prior to the district purchasing the item so there are no cash flow issues. When a booster club wishes to donate equipment to a school, the preferred method for the transaction is the same as the method for donation of supplies noted above. Again, with the approval of the site administrator, the district-designated individual authorized to spend the funds purchases the equipment through the district’s purchasing system.
The purchase should be charged to a school account code, and the purchase requisition should contain the following information in bold:
PAID BY:
Booster Club Name
Person responsible for Booster Club
Billing address
The purchase should be charged to the school account code on the requisition at the time of payment, and the district office should bill the booster club for the amount of the equipment purchased. We would always suggest that the booster club donate the money to the district prior to the district purchasing the item so there are no cash flow issues.
If the booster club wishes to purchase equipment outright and donate it to a school, the process is different. The booster club should notify the site administrator and the purchasing department before the equipment is ordered. Then, at a regular board meeting, the district’s governing board must then accept the equipment as a donation to the district.
8/19/09
