Question:  Can ASB funds purchase a new computer for the ASB secretary?

Response: ASB organizations have a lot of flexibility and discretion about how they may use their funds, but there are overlying principles that guide what is allowable and what is not. Allowable expenditures are those that promote the general welfare, morale and educational experiences of students. Allowable expenditures are also those that the students are involved in making the overall decisions.

Prohibited purchases are the opposite: those that do not directly promote the general welfare, morale or educational experience of students. These can include salaries, supplies or other expenditures that have been and still are the responsibility of the district, repair and maintenance of district-owned equipment, articles for personal use of district employees, expenses for faculty meetings and expenses for parent teach organizations.

Since it is confusing as far as what is and is not allowable, it is critical that districts establish board policy and administrative regulations containing guidelines for their own specific district on what they consider allowable and prohibited expenses. These policies/regulations should be regularly reviewed and updated as individual questions come up so that they cover the types of items that are specific to your own district.

As far as the specific question that you have asked, the "quick" answer is dependent on how the computer for the ASB secretary was paid for in the past. If the computer was originally paid out of the district's general fund, but now due to budget cuts the ASB is being asked to pick up the cost, then our general response would be that no, these are not allowable expenditures because the students are being asked to pick up an expenditure that has been the responsibility of the district in the past.

But, if the computer for the ASB secretary is a new expenditure or if it is being replaced not because it is broken but because it was determined something newer and /or stronger was needed to assist the ASB and its operations, if the student body organization votes to pay for this expenditure,  and the students feel that the expenditures promote the general welfare, moral and/or educational experience of the students, they could be considered an allowable expenditure if voted for as acceptable. If so, board policy or other documentation should be updated so that they contain these types of expenditures for future reference.