Q: Why are there so many forms to fill out?
A: Every year the ASB is subject to auditing. This is done to make sure that the ASB money has not been abused or spent frivolously. The forms are necessary to make sure that all steps in the ASB policies have been followed before money is spent. Just like the district money, ASB money is subject to strict regulation which is achieved through a mountain of paperwork. The ASB requires the same diligence and responsibility from staff members that the district requires for its expenditures. For example, invoices and detailed explanations of expenses are required. Therefore, pre-approvals are necessary, permission must be granted, and appropriate documentation must be submitted for all activities and requests. It is a necessary evil. Again, the ASB requires the same level of responsibility from staff members that the principal expects for district money.
Q: Why can't we give a Gift Card as a prize for a club competition/ event?
A: The District Office has determined that gift cards are equal to giving cash as a prize, which is not allowable. The reason for this is that the District needs to be able to show that student funds were used appropriately (i.e. not spent on alcohol or other items that are not legal for high school students to purchase).
Q: Why do I have to submit an activity request to go on a field trip that has already been approved by the administration? All I want is the transportation paid for by our club’s ASB account.
A: District money and ASB money are separate. Therefore, any request to spend ASB money on an activity must be approved using the Requisition forms. If you are going to spend money from an ASB account, all activities and expenses must be approved.
**If you are not going to spend money from an ASB account, then the ASB will only need to approve the event or activity (if happening on campus) to ensure there is not a conflict on the school calendar.
Q: Why do I have to ask the ASB to spend money that was raised by my organization? Isn’t it our money? Shouldn’t we be able to spend it how we want?
A: The Student Council is an organization of students that protects all student money, regardless of who raised it. There are strict policies put in place so that we can pass our audit. This is why all expenses must be pre-approved. In addition, all money must be spent on things that directly or indirectly support non-curricular activities for students.
When requests are submitted, the Student Council considers the legitimacy of the request and whether or not the money will benefit the students. This is done to protect the money from abuse by adults who have access to it. In essence, the money does not belong to the advisor or coach, but rather, it belongs to the Associate Student Body.
ASB monies are the most abused monies in education. Therefore, it is important that all advisors and coaches plan ahead by creating a budget and foreseeing expenses so that they do not have to spend money in an “emergency” that is not pre-approved. If this is done, the coach/advisor will not be reimbursed.
Q: Why was payment of my bill denied?
A: There are a variety of reasons that a request could be denied. The most frequent mistakes are:
Q: Why was my bill sent back to me?
A: There are a variety of reasons that a request could be returned . The most frequent reasons are:
Q: Our club did a book drive to collect books for children in another country. Now they want to raise money to pay for the shipping of these books. They would like to solicit donations from other students, and they would deposit the money into their club account to spend on shipping the books Is this is appropriate or not?
A: The issue that you are asking about comes up often, as clubs want to "do the right thing" and fund-raise to help others less fortunate. None of us want to stop you from doing so, but because of our connection to public entities we do have to worry whether it is considered a "gift of public funds".
The books themselves have been collected with the intent of passing them on to a charitable organization. If the books were instead cash, you would not be able to do this as it would be considered a gift of public funds. We would encourage you to look to your parent run booster clubs such as PTSA or the Gunn At Your Service Parent Group to assist your club by paying for the shipping.
Q: The Club I want to start used to have and account with money, but now that money is gone - what happened?
A: Under ASB accounting rules, the funds from inactive clubs that have not had any account activity for three (3) years will be transferred to Student Body to be spent on all current students in the school. This is done because the students who raised the money are no longer here to benefit from it.
Q: We want to arrange for Corporate Sponsorship with a local business? What does that allow us and the company to do?
A: At this time, PAUSD does not have a Board policy regarding corporate sponsorships, which means there is very little benefit for a company if choosing to sponsor a club. Companies are always welcome to donate to clubs, however they cannot compel the club to promote the company or recruit for the company as a condition of the donation. FOr promotional purposes, companies may only:
A: Every year the ASB is subject to auditing. This is done to make sure that the ASB money has not been abused or spent frivolously. The forms are necessary to make sure that all steps in the ASB policies have been followed before money is spent. Just like the district money, ASB money is subject to strict regulation which is achieved through a mountain of paperwork. The ASB requires the same diligence and responsibility from staff members that the district requires for its expenditures. For example, invoices and detailed explanations of expenses are required. Therefore, pre-approvals are necessary, permission must be granted, and appropriate documentation must be submitted for all activities and requests. It is a necessary evil. Again, the ASB requires the same level of responsibility from staff members that the principal expects for district money.
Q: Why can't we give a Gift Card as a prize for a club competition/ event?
A: The District Office has determined that gift cards are equal to giving cash as a prize, which is not allowable. The reason for this is that the District needs to be able to show that student funds were used appropriately (i.e. not spent on alcohol or other items that are not legal for high school students to purchase).
Q: Why do I have to submit an activity request to go on a field trip that has already been approved by the administration? All I want is the transportation paid for by our club’s ASB account.
A: District money and ASB money are separate. Therefore, any request to spend ASB money on an activity must be approved using the Requisition forms. If you are going to spend money from an ASB account, all activities and expenses must be approved.
**If you are not going to spend money from an ASB account, then the ASB will only need to approve the event or activity (if happening on campus) to ensure there is not a conflict on the school calendar.
Q: Why do I have to ask the ASB to spend money that was raised by my organization? Isn’t it our money? Shouldn’t we be able to spend it how we want?
A: The Student Council is an organization of students that protects all student money, regardless of who raised it. There are strict policies put in place so that we can pass our audit. This is why all expenses must be pre-approved. In addition, all money must be spent on things that directly or indirectly support non-curricular activities for students.
When requests are submitted, the Student Council considers the legitimacy of the request and whether or not the money will benefit the students. This is done to protect the money from abuse by adults who have access to it. In essence, the money does not belong to the advisor or coach, but rather, it belongs to the Associate Student Body.
ASB monies are the most abused monies in education. Therefore, it is important that all advisors and coaches plan ahead by creating a budget and foreseeing expenses so that they do not have to spend money in an “emergency” that is not pre-approved. If this is done, the coach/advisor will not be reimbursed.
Q: Why was payment of my bill denied?
A: There are a variety of reasons that a request could be denied. The most frequent mistakes are:
- failure to get expense approved
- did not spend money on the items specified on the pre-approval
- overspent the amount indicated on the pre-approval
- not a legitimate expense for ASB money
- there were no receipts or invoices attached to document the expense.
Q: Why was my bill sent back to me?
A: There are a variety of reasons that a request could be returned . The most frequent reasons are:
- no advisor signature
- no pre-approval date indicated
- no detailed explanation of expense
- illegible
- no account # indicated
- no amount indicated
- did not mark what was being requested (check, PO, transfer, etc.)
Q: Our club did a book drive to collect books for children in another country. Now they want to raise money to pay for the shipping of these books. They would like to solicit donations from other students, and they would deposit the money into their club account to spend on shipping the books Is this is appropriate or not?
A: The issue that you are asking about comes up often, as clubs want to "do the right thing" and fund-raise to help others less fortunate. None of us want to stop you from doing so, but because of our connection to public entities we do have to worry whether it is considered a "gift of public funds".
The books themselves have been collected with the intent of passing them on to a charitable organization. If the books were instead cash, you would not be able to do this as it would be considered a gift of public funds. We would encourage you to look to your parent run booster clubs such as PTSA or the Gunn At Your Service Parent Group to assist your club by paying for the shipping.
Q: The Club I want to start used to have and account with money, but now that money is gone - what happened?
A: Under ASB accounting rules, the funds from inactive clubs that have not had any account activity for three (3) years will be transferred to Student Body to be spent on all current students in the school. This is done because the students who raised the money are no longer here to benefit from it.
Q: We want to arrange for Corporate Sponsorship with a local business? What does that allow us and the company to do?
A: At this time, PAUSD does not have a Board policy regarding corporate sponsorships, which means there is very little benefit for a company if choosing to sponsor a club. Companies are always welcome to donate to clubs, however they cannot compel the club to promote the company or recruit for the company as a condition of the donation. FOr promotional purposes, companies may only:
- pay for shirts in exchange for a company logo to be printed on the shirt
- post a banner at the club's events