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gilmer high school internal funds accounting standard practice bulletin spb student obligations i general information a student obligations are student debts arising from unreturned or damaged school property student obligations are commonly generated by unreturned textbooks cafeteria charges or fundraising items b student obligations should be discouraged and addressed annually so that loss to the school district is minimized while grades and promotion cannot be used as a deterrent student participation in extracurricular activities shall be suspended until obligations are paid in full or established installments are current c extra-curricular activities shall be defined as those activities which are sponsored or approved by the school and conducted wholly or partly outside the regular school day the gilmer county secondary code of conduct book states that school social activities are also considered extra-curricular activities section v rule of the code states in part many students take part in school related activities that are extracurricular take place outside of school hours social and interscholastic engage in competition with other schools extra-curricular activities include participation in school or district sponsored clubs or organizations e.g national art honor society interact club · participation in student government participation in after school social activities including senior trips proms and dances and the graduation ceremony · participation in voluntary region state and national academic competitions · participation in performance group activities such as band chorus debate and drama that are not a requirement for course credit ii initiation of student obligations a a teacher must provide either 1 a signed student obligation card exhibit 2 showing the obligation issued to the student and the amount of the obligation school board policy 6.5 textbooks details the amount to be collected for textbooks 2 a completed copy of the merchandise distribution sheet required for all fund-raisers b these documents contain the student s signature acknowledging receipt and responsibility for the assigned items and thus are the basis for accountability.

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c once the student returns an item or pays for an item in full and an obligation card has been issued the obligation card is returned to the student and should be used by the student as the receipt showing that the obligation was satisfied ii student obligation documentation a a designated school staff member should file student obligations cards alphabetically by the student s name these cards must include the student s student identification number b in addition to obligations being recorded on a student obligation card student obligation information must also be recorded in the powerschool database c a certificate of loss for all uncollected obligations must be completed by the responsible employee all uncollectible obligations including all withdrawals and graduations must be cleared in the powerschool database by recording them in the loss field in powerschool the intent of recording obligations for a withdrawn students is that the obligation will be reactivated if the students reenters the district d if a student with an obligation withdraws or graduates documentation of the withdrawal must be forwarded to the bookkeeper to be attached to the computer printout and be maintained for audit purposes e student obligation lists should be periodically reviewed and be discussed with students by administration students must be aware of existing obligations iii collection of student obligations a whenever possible student obligation collections should not be made by the bookkeeper suggested collectors of student obligations are · the student s advisor · assistant principal · guidance counselor · a front office staff member b all student obligations should be receipted using a receipt book c once obligations are collected they must be forwarded to the bookkeeper for receipting in the internal accounts system the bookkeeper will receipt collections into the account that incurred the original loss i.e math department class of 2009 etc d student obligations paid by check are only cleared after the check is honored by the bank e if ghs collects an obligation that originated from another school ghs shall receipt and retain the funds in their textbook account if the collection was for textbooks or in the general fund of ghs s internal accounts f once a student obligation is paid documentation of payment is forwarded to the staff member that maintains the powerschool database for adjustment of the obligation amount.

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iv uncollectible student obligations every effort to collect the student obligation must be made a the only acceptable reasons for an uncollectible obligation are 1 student permanently withdrew from school 2 student graduated a certificate of loss must be completed and be used to document the obligation all certificates of loss must be approved by the principal b ghs textbook policy details the procedures and documentation required for lost or damaged textbooks a copy of this documentation should be attached to the certificate of loss if several lost or damaged textbook obligations exist then one certificate of loss for lost or damaged textbooks may be completed c the same procedures set forth in ghs textbook policy should be followed when documenting uncollectible student obligations that arose from other than lost or damaged textbooks a copy of this documentation should be attached to the certificate of loss if several student obligations exist then one certificate of loss for each category of obligation may be completed d the bookkeeper must maintain student obligation certificates of loss for audit purposes e the district s internal auditor may review total student obligations created and uncollectible each year.

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