Policy

Policy 10303 - Parent Advisory Council Fundraising Coordination

1. INTENT

1.1.

The Surrey Board of Education intends to foster cooperative relationships with Parent Advisory Councils in order to serve the best interests of students. To that end, the board considers it beneficial to provide direction to administrative officers on preferred practices to utilize where a Parent Advisory Council (PAC) chooses to raise funds to support school services.

2. AUTHORITY & RESPONSIBILITY

2.1.	Administrative Officers are assigned the authority and responsibility to liaise with the school, PAC, support groups and the school community.

3. PLANNING OF PURPOSES

3.1.	School operations and PAC activities are dynamic and ongoing liaison is appropriate.
3.2.	Where a PAC has expressed an interest in raising funds, the administrative officer will discuss annually with the PAC, opportunities for financial support. The opportunities presented should be comprehensive and congruent with existing school programs and the school growth plan.
3.3.	Discussion of the survey of opportunities is a forum for mutual influence and a means of communicating school needs and receiving parental input. The outcome is a consensus which integrates PAC fundraising objectives with school education plans.

4. COORDINATION WITH PAC FUNDRAISING

4.1.

Administrative officers are responsible for the operation of schools. Schools can raise funds for their own purposes.

4.2.

Parent Advisory Councils can operate fundraising events and are accountable to their members and financial supporters.

4.3.

The PAC is responsible for the administration of the funds it raises pursuant to its constitution and bylaws, legislation and commitments to donors.

4.4.

Before a PAC fundraising activity can involve students, school facilities, school communication systems, or be sanctioned for schools protection program insurance coverage, the administrative officer is responsible to ensure that:

a)	Student involvement is safe and appropriate (See Policy #4910 – School/Student Fundraising for guidance).
b)	Values which the public will confer on the school from the activity are acceptable.
c)	Purposes of the PAC fundraising are acceptable.
d)	Financial controls appropriate for publicly raised funds are to be established.
e)	Financial reporting and audit/review of PAC funds are appropriate.
f)	Coordination of fundraising is congruent with school activity schedules; and
g)	Any student accidents or illness or PAC member accidents will be reported to school administration (see Policies #5815 – Risk Management – Incident Reports and #9615 – Student Accident & Illness at School)

4.5.

Where a PAC is not registered to issue official tax deductible charitable receipts, the administrative officer can arrange charitable fundraising capabilities pursuant to board Policy #4430 – Charitable Donations. Where funds are donated (i.e. not in exchange for goods or services) for which a school district official charitable receipt is issued, those funds will be defined as school fundraising and subject to Board Policy #4430 and Policy #4910. Donor designation of purpose applies.

5. COORDINATING SCHOOL OPERATIONS WITH PAC FUNDING

5.1.

The administrative officer is the PAC’s contact for the expenditure of PAC funds to support school operations. Funds may be expended by:

a)	Contributing funds to the school for either defined purposes or discretionary flexibility.
b)	Purchasing goods, services or equipment and contributing them to the school, subject to board policies #5305 – Equipment Donations and #6511 – Site Improvements and Maintenance defining acceptance of such contributions; or
c)	Contributing funds to the board to fund larger expenditures for the school

6. REPORTING ON PAC FUNDED EXPENDITURES

6.1.	Administrative officers are to provide the PAC’s with periodic reports on school usage of funds provided by the PAC. Protection of privacy rights must be respected as delineated in Policy #5700 – Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy

7. COORDINATION WITH OTHER SINGLE PURPOSE SUPPORT GROUPS

7.1.

The foregoing is applicable, except as noted, to a school’s relationship with a group whose sole purpose is to support education at a particular school (e.g. a music parents’ group) and the supporter operates its own fundraising rather than participates in school-directed and/or PAC fundraising.

7.2.

The School Act provides legal definition to a school’s relationship with a PAC and empowers the Administrative Officer to provide input to the constitution and bylaws of a PAC. These parameters do not exist for other sole purpose relationships. Therefore, the Administrative Officer must, in order to facilitate achievement of the intended purpose and the maintenance of public credibility, before entering into or renewing an arrangement:

a)	Review the supporter’s operating arrangements; and
b)	Define the relationship in writing with the supporter.

7.3.

Liability insurance coverage, under the terms of the Schools Protection Program, may only be extended to cover PAC activities.
Accordingly, support and community groups must arrange their own insurance.

Revised:	2000-10-12
Approved:	1999-07-08 -Ref.: #4430
X-Ref:	Policy #4430 Reg. #4430.1 Policy #4900 Reg. #4900.1 Policy #4910 Policy #5305 Policy #5700 Policy #5815 Reg. #5815.1 Policy #6511 Reg. #6511.1 Reg. #6511.2 Policy #9615 Policy #10300 Policy #10305 Policy #10400