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BUSINESS OPERATIONS Purchasing Policy It shall be the policy of the District to purchase products and services at the best economical consideration for the District, while maintaining quality standards for purchases. The administrative staff shall be responsible for approving all purchases made in the name of the District, except those authorized by direct action of the Board. No official may make a purchase or contract in the name of the District exceeding fifty-seven thousand dollars ($57,000) for any single item, or single group of items, without competitive sealed bids/proposals, hereinafter referred to as "bids". Exceptions to this may only be made in the following situations:
All sealed bids shall be made in accordance with the laws of the State of Iowa. Bids shall not be related to, or a result of, price fixing or any collusive activities among bidders or suppliers. Such activity on the part of vendors will eliminate them from future consideration as responsible bidders. Contracts/purchases shall be awarded on the basis of the lowest responsive, responsible bidder, taking into consideration the price, quality, delivery, ability, past work history, and any other factors the District determines to be relevant, including the use of preferences for local or Iowa sources, and targeted small businesses, with the Board reserving the right to reject any and all bids if it is in the Board's judgment in the best interest of the District. District staff should refer to District Purchasing Procedures prior to soliciting for bids or quotations. Change orders to Board approved bids may be approved by the Chief Financial Officer if they are for additional work valued at less than $25,000.
BUSINESS OPERATIONS Opening of Bids Bids submitted for advertised materials, work, etc. shall be opened at the prescribed time published in the official notice of such call for bids. If only one bid is received, the administration may leave the bid unopened and present it to the Board with the recommendation to re-bid the item(s). Bids that are opened shall be studied prior to the next regular Board meeting and presented to the Board with recommendations from the administration. The administration will prepare budget estimates for all projects requiring bids. The estimate will be determined prior to the opening of bids and will be included with bids when presented at the board table for approval. Bids received later than the designated time for opening shall be returned to the sender unopened.
BUSINESS OPERATIONS Capital Assets The school district will establish and maintain a capital assets management system for reporting capitalized assets owned or under the jurisdiction of the school district in its financial reports in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) as required or modified by law; to improve the school district's oversight of capital assets by assigning and recording them to specific facilities and programs and to provide for proof of loss of capital assets for insurance purposes. Capital assets, including tangible and intangible assets, are reported in the government-wide financial statements (i.e. governmental activities and business type activities) and the proprietary fund financial statements. Capital assets reported include school district buildings and sites, construction in progress, improvements other than buildings and sites, land and machinery and equipment. Capital assets reported in the financial reports will include individual capital assets with an historical cost equal to or greater than $5,000. The Federal regulations governing school lunch programs require capital assets attributable to the school lunch program with a historical cost of equal to or greater than $500 be capitalized. Additionally, capital assets are depreciated over the useful life of each capital asset. All intangible assets with a purchase price equal to or greater than $100,000 with useful life of two or more years, are included in the intangible asset inventory for capitalization purposes. Such assets are recorded at actual historical cost and amortized over the designated useful lifetime applying a straight-line method of depreciation. If there are no legal, contractual, regulatory, technological or other factors that limit the useful life of the asset, then the intangible asset needs to be considered to have an indefinite useful life and no amortization should be recorded. This policy applies to all intangible assets. If an intangible asset that meets the threshold criteria is fully amortized, the asset must be reported at the historical cost and the applicable accumulated amortization must also be reported. It is not appropriate to “net” the capital asset and amortization to avoid reporting. For internally generated intangible assets, outlays incurred by the government's personnel, or by a third-party contractor on behalf of the government, and for development of internally generated intangible assets should be capitalized. The capital assets management system must be updated monthly to account for the addition/acquisition, disposal, relocation/transfer of capital assets. It is the responsibility of the superintendent or designee to count and reconcile the capital assets with capital assets management system on June 30 each year. It is the responsibility of the superintendent or designee to develop administrative regulations implementing this policy. It will also be the responsibility of the superintendent or designee to educate employees about this policy and it’s supporting administrative regulations.
· Legal Reference: Iowa Code §§ 257.31(4); 279.8; 297.22-.25; 298A (2009). · Adopted 9/27/10
BUSINESS OPERATIONS (Deleted 6/11/07) Purchase Orders (Became an administrative regulation instead of policy)
BUSINESS OPERATIONS (Deleted 6/11/07) Items to be Stocked (Became an administrative regulation instead of policy)
BUSINESS OPERATIONS Receiving Supplies and Equipment All supplies and equipment purchased in the name of the District shall be cleared through the Purchasing Department. Whenever this procedure is impossible and/or impractical, the Purchasing Department shall be notified by the school personnel receiving such equipment, supplies, and services the items have been received. It shall be the duty of the Purchasing Department to certify to the Accounting Department the receipt of all equipment, supplies, and services.
BUSINESS OPERATIONS Approval and Payment of Bills for Goods and Services The Board shall cause to have warrants issued for all claims against the District upon review by an ad hoc committee of the Board or board president designee and allowance by the Board. The following steps shall be followed by the Board and administration in carrying out the proper payment of bills. 1. An ad hoc committee shall consist of the Board President or board president designee. 2. The ad hoc committee shall meet as necessary to review bills for payment prior to the authorization by the Board for payment of the bills. A copy of the current check roster which summarizes the bills for payment shall be sent to the members of the Board prior to the meeting of the ad hoc committee. The function of the ad hoc committee shall be to ascertain that expenditures are made in response to a duly authorized purchase order with properly signed documents attesting that the goods and/or services were received properly by the school district. 3. Members of the Board who have questions regarding any of the bills shall submit their questions to the Superintendent or superintendent designee, the Board President, or another member of the ad hoc committee prior to the review so that questions may be answered prior to the board meeting at which approval of payment will be requested. The review of bills for payment will usually be held on the Friday or Monday prior to the board meeting, at a time to be designated by the Board President. Any questions which occur to board members between the day of the review and the Monday night meeting should be called in to the Superintendent of superintendent’s designee in order that information can be gathered prior to the board meeting. Any questions that arise at the board meeting shall be noted by the Board Secretary and the Superintendent. Bills shall be approved with the understanding that an investigation of those questions raised at the meeting will be satisfactorily resolved. If the questions cannot be satisfactorily answered, then the bills shall be pulled for later consideration. In the next board packet, board members shall be informed of the questions raised at the board meeting and the answers regarding the bills following the investigation by the administration. The Board Secretary is authorized to issue warrants prior to the review by an ad hoc committee of the Board and allowance by the Board upon approval for pre-payment by the Board President, or upon a just claim for payment of freight, postage, printing, utilities, and travel expense, and to make payment of salaries pursuant to the terms of written contracts entered into by the Board. All claims and salaries for which warrants have been issued prior to audit and allowance by the Board, as provided herein, shall be passed upon by the Board at the first regular meeting thereafter and shall be entered on record in the regular minutes of the secretary. · Legal References: Code of Iowa Chapter 298 · By action of the Board 9/20/76, 2/14/83; Revised 1/13/92, 9/20/93; Revised 6/26/00; Reviewed 1/10/11 · Edited 6/00, 1/11
BUSINESS OPERATIONS Payroll Payroll Periods It shall be the policy of the Board that all personnel of the District be paid on a basis established by the administration or through negotiations. The payment would depend upon the job classification of the employee. Payroll Deductions Payroll deductions shall consist of federal income tax withholdings required by law. Any employee may elect to have payments withheld for programs that have been approved by the Board.
BUSINESS OPERATIONS Employee Travel Compensation Employees traveling on behalf of the District and performing approved District business will be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses. Actual and necessary travel expenses will include, but not be limited to, transportation and/or mileage costs, lodging expenses, meal expenses and registration costs. Travel Outside the District Travel outside of the District must be pre-approved. Pre-approval will include an evaluation of the necessity of the travel, the reason for the travel and an estimate of the cost of the travel to qualify as approved District business. Travel outside the District by employees, other than the Superintendent, must be approved by the employees’ immediate supervisor. Reimbursement for air travel will be at the tourist class fares. Should an employee choose to travel by automobile, reimbursement will be limited to the public carrier amount. The supervisor will determine whether a District vehicle or rental vehicle is most appropriate. Pre-approved expenses for transportation in a rental car are limited to the cost of a “compact” rental car at a competitively priced agency, unless the number of people traveling on behalf of the District warrants a larger vehicle. Pre-approved expenses for transportation within 300 miles of the District will be by automobile. If a District vehicle or a rental vehicle is not available, the employee will be reimbursed for using their own vehicle. The reimbursement rate will be established at the beginning of each fiscal year. Exceptions to the limits may be approved by the Superintendent or superintendent’s designee. Same Day Travel Reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses will be allowed for travel outside the District if the employee received pre-approval for the travel. Prior to reimbursement of actual and necessary expenses, the employee must provide the District with a detailed receipt, other than a credit card receipt, indicating the date, purpose and nature of the expense for each claim item. In exceptional circumstances, the Superintendent or superintendent’s designee may allow a claim without proper receipt. Written documentation explaining the exceptional circumstances is maintained as part of the District’s record of the claim. Pre-approved expenses for meals are paid on a per meal basis, established at the beginning of each fiscal year, when meals are not included in registration or other fees. Same day travel requires a detailed receipt otherwise it will be a personal expense. Personal expenses, including mileage, in excess of that required for the trip are reimbursed by the employee to the school district no later than 10 working days following the date of the expense. Reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses for travel outside the District will be limited to the pre-approved expenses. Pre-approved expenses for registration are limited to the actual cost of the registration. Overnight Stay Pre-approved expenses for meals on overnight stays are paid on a per meal basis, established at the beginning of each fiscal year, when meals are not included in registration or other fees. Detailed receipts are not required for per diem reimbursements. Meals may be pre-approved for a larger amount by the Superintendent or the superintendent’s designee. Travel Within the District Employees required to travel in their personal vehicle between District buildings to carry out the duties of their position may be reimbursed at the reimbursement rate established at the beginning of each fiscal year. It is the responsibility of the Superintendent or superintendent’s designee to approve travel within the District by employees. It is the responsibility of the Board to review the travel within the District by the Superintendent through the Board's audit and approval process. Employees who are allowed an in-school district travel allowance will have the amount of the allowance actually received during each calendar year included on the employee's W-2 form as taxable income according to the Internal Revenue Code. Meals will not be reimbursed for in-district travel. The Superintendent or superintendent’s designee is responsible for developing administrative regulations regarding actual and necessary expenses, in-school district travel allowances and assignment of District vehicles. The administrative regulations will include the appropriate forms to be filed for reimbursement to the employee from the District and the procedures for obtaining approval for travel outside of and within the District. NOTE: This policy contains auditor's requirements for a travel compensation policy, including incidental vehicle use, reimbursement by employees for personal use, travel between attendance centers and taxation of additional compensation. As a result, most of the language of the policy is mandatory.
BUSINESS OPERATIONS Unpaid Warrants The Board shall, only in the case of absolute necessity, issue warrants for which there are no funds available for the payment of such warrants. If warrants are issued for which there are no funds available for payment of such warrants, the Treasurer shall institute such procedures as stated in the Code of Iowa, Chapter 74, Sections 1-8 for the payment of said warrants.
BUSINESS OPERATIONS (Deleted 6/26/00; See Policy 303.07) Payment of Bills
BUSINESS OPERATIONS Signing Contracts All contracts shall be signed by the Board President
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