Procedure

Procedure 5713.1 - District Courier Services

1. DISTRICT COURIER SERVICE

1.1.	The contracted district courier will provide timely delivery and pick-up services, via blue bags, to all district offices and schools based on a prescribed schedule of service.
1.2.	Regular district courier service to all schools is Monday and Thursday, excluding statutory holidays.
1.3.	Regular district courier service to all district offices will be Monday through Friday, excluding statutory holidays.

2. OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES

2.1.	All material for inclusion in the district courier will be handled by authorized personnel. Material to be included in the courier bags must be left with authorized District Courier Centre (DCC) staff for distribution.
2.2.	Use of DCC is for school-related business purposes only. Personal mailing or personal business use is not permitted.
2.3.	Priority for use of the district courier service is given to school and district material.
2.4.	It is the responsibility of the Requester of Service to ensure that all material arriving in the DCC does so in an organized manner to ensure timely delivery. Failure to do so, may result in delay of distribution or the material being returned for sorting.

3. HOURS OF OPERATION

3.1.

Hours of operation forth DCC are Monday – Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

3.2.

To ensure the timely delivery of material, the following deadline must be adhered to:

Cut-off Days/Times For materials to be included with Monday courier (school and district office runs)	Must be Received in DCC Before 12:00 p.m. Friday
Cut-off Days/Times For material to be included with Thursday courier (school and district office runs)	Must be Received in DCC Before 12:00 p.m. Wednesday
Cut-off Days/Times For material to be included with Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday Couriers (district office runs only)	Must be Received in DCC Before 12:00 p.m. the day prior

3.3.

Material received after the 12:00 p.m. deadline may be held for the next scheduled courier date.

3.4.

In an emergency situation, upon receiving prior approval, access may be obtained to the courier bags after 4:00 p.m. Material to be distributed will then have to be processed by the “Requester of Service”.

4. APPROVED MATERIALS DISTRIBUTED BY EXTERNAL AGENCIES

4.1.	The approval of the promotion of external agencies through schools is assigned by board Policy #10805 – Promotion of External Agencies Through Schools. All material(s) to be distributed through the DCC must include a letter of approval from either the superintendent, secretary-treasurer, deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent, associate superintendents, assistant secretary-treasurer, the directors of instruction or director positions. Where permission has been granted and space permits, other non-district material is also distributed through the school district’s Transportation Services Department.
4.2.	The distribution of external material(s) will not take precedence over the distribution of internal materials. Internal materials will always be given priority.
4.3.	Oversized packages of information provided by an external agency and approved for distribution will be done using the school district’s Transport Services Department to provide this service.

5. DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALS

5.1.

Single Items

One item to each site – If Information is one page in length, (Newsletters, Bulletins etc.) and not addressed to a specific person, then leave flat and loose.
Provide clear and specific directions for distribution.

5.2.

Multiple Items

a)	More than one piece of material (individually addressed) to be distributed to each site.
b)	Address labels must correctly identify addressee, school, and site/courier number.
c)	Material must be bundled for each location by the Requester of Service.
d)	Bundles for distribution must be sorted in numerical courier order.
e)	Size of materials is limited to 11 x 17 envelopes, no more than 1 inch thick. DCC staff will determine whether bundles will fit in courier bag.
f)	Provide clear and specific directions for distribution.

6. BLUE COURIER BAGS – PAYROLL POUCH

6.1.

The blue courier bags include a “Payroll Use Only” pouch on the front portion. This half pouch is to be used to forward mail only to the Payroll Department. This will ensure the timely arrival of important payroll documents necessary to meet payroll deadlines. All other material for pick-up and delivery must be placed in the full bag for distribution to departments other than the Payroll Department.
The half pouch will be opened first and should contain the following documents required by the Payroll Department.

a)	All payroll time sheets.
b)	Address and/or bank information forms.
c)	Benefit change forms.
d)	Federal or Provincial payroll and benefits forms.
e)	Letters, memos, correspondence and forms regarding payroll.

7. CANADA POST MAIL

7.1.	All Canada Post mail to be posted must be received in the DCC no later than 12:00 p.m. This will allow sufficient time for the Canada Post mail to be processed daily and delivered to Surrey’s Main Canada Post Depot, via the courier service, no later than 4:00 p.m. of the same day.
7.2.	The size of packages to be mailed is limited to envelopes and small parcels. Parcels of a large nature and exceeding 2 kilograms should be delivered by the originating department to the closest Canada Post office or depot.

Approved:	1999-07-08
X-Ref.:	Policy #10800 Policy #10805