Question:  At our district the libraries collect money for lost and damaged district textbooks. It is deposited in an ASB account and the controller sends refund checks.  After attending your class on Monday I understood this is not appropriate and should go through the district business office.  Would you please clarify?

Response: Fees may not be imposed on students unless they are specifically authorized by law. It is perfectly legal to collect money for lost and damaged district textbooks (and library books), as these fees are one of the few identified in law.  The problem is, though, that the textbooks were initially purchased by the district, not the ASB, so collections need to be deposited into the district bank account.

Many districts do incorrectly make deposits such as these into ASB as it is easier and faster to make the deposit since the money is actually collected at the site.  The problem is, though, that once money is deposited into ASB, the funds are property of ASB.  Since the ASB did not make the initial purchase, the money is not theirs.  And once deposited into the ASB account, the funds must be expended as all other ASB funds are to be expended, pre-approved by the students for extra-curricular or other expenditures that are not district requirements.  Since textbooks are a district responsibility, that’s where the funds belong.