By the end of March, both district officials and potential donors will have a consistent method by which to judge any gifts that the district receives&160;- or at least that is the hope of administrators and school board members.

Tuesday, March 05, 2002

By the end of March, both district officials and potential donors will have a consistent method by which to judge any gifts that the district receives&160;- or at least that is the hope of administrators and school board members.

The proposed new policy would cover all gifts of money or equipment to extracurricular activities – including sports – and other programs within the district.

If the policy covering gifts and donations is approved, all gifts worth more than $100 would be examined using these criteria:

– Any donations would need to have a purpose consistent with the district’s goals.

– When the gift is a piece of equipment, it would not require the district to use a &uot;disproportionate amount&uot; of its own funds to install or maintain it, and the equipment would need to be compatible with existing district technology.

– Donors would need to acknowledge that all programs funded by donations continue only at the discretion of the school board.

In addition, the policy would require a two-thirds majority in order for a donation of real or personal property to be accepted.

According to the policy as it was presented to the board on Monday, gifts of less than $100 that are for a specific building or class may be accepted by the administrator of that building without formal review, provided the superintendent is informed and the donor is identified by name and address.

A major concern of district officials in crafting the policy is that donations should not create imbalances between different activities, said David Prescott, superintendent. With a policy in place, both board members and those who wish to donate funds would have clear directions concerning donations, he said.

The new policy is based on models provided by the Minnesota School Boards Association and other school districts in the state. It received its first reading at Monday night’s school board meeting. The board will have a second reading and hold a vote on the policy at its meeting on March 11.