In the question you have raised, the answer would be “yes” if the ASB votes and decides that the director can attend the CADA workshop and this is past practice .Many school district ASBs have paid for their directors to attend CADA for years, and the students have found that to be an acceptable charge. But, many school districts have the view and rule that if the students are not attending the workshop with the adult, it is not appropriate for the expenditure to be charged to ASB as there no direct benefit to the students.  Following this rule, the cost would not be allowable.  There is no “legal” rule of which answer is correct as it truly depends on how the students vote, what the ASB policy states and what past practice has been.

If district board policy states that the CADA conference is an acceptable expenditure even though students are not attending and the students agree on the expenditure before it occurs, the minutes from the student council meeting would reflect the vote, so that is part of your backup that pre-approval was obtained.

Whenever questioning ASB fund expenditures, always remember that students have to approve of all expenditures charged to the ASB funds. That is the major guideline. Secondly, board policy must be followed and there must be a direct benefit to the student.  Also, when you are in doubt of appropriate expenditures in any case, including student body funds, it is appropriate to ask your independent auditor as they will be auditing these funds annually and it is best to ensure that they are in agreement when you have new situations such as what you have asked here.

01/05/06