Committee flags repairs/replacement policy for lost or damaged district property; practice favors depreciated-value charges

The governance committee reviewed proposed revisions to the district regulation that governs damage or loss of instructional materials and equipment and questioned ASB-recommended language that would require charging replacement value for damaged items.

An administrator told the committee the district’s practice is to charge the depreciated value of an asset rather than full replacement cost. As an example the administrator said, “if, for instance, they broke a computer and it was 6 years old, then we wouldn't we don't charge them a replacement cost. We charge them the 6 year depreciated value of that particular asset.” The administrator said the ASB-proposed language to “recharge the replacement value” does not reflect current practice and may be inconsistent with established depreciation rules.

Committee members expressed concern about language that might obligate families to pay full replacement costs and asked administration to reassess the wording and return the item for further governance review. The committee scheduled the regulation for a December governance meeting to revisit the issue and consider revised language that more closely matches practice and the district’s ability to collect payments.

Action and next steps: administration will draft language that reflects the district’s current practice (charging depreciated value where appropriate), consider whether parental financial hardship or de minimis thresholds should be specified, and return the item to governance in December.