The Board of Education policy committee reviewed revisions to the district’s fundraising regulation that set approval deadlines, clarified approval authorities and added a requirement that crowdfunding campaigns receive prior approval.

The regulation requires a designated adult for student fundraising, says activities must provide an educational benefit and prohibits door-to-door solicitation by unsupervised students. Fundraisers estimated to raise less than $10,000 must be submitted in writing to the principal and receive a response within two weeks; the superintendent or a designee must sign off within about one week. Fundraisers anticipated to raise more than $10,000 still require superintendent approval and will be shared with the board for information only, not for board approval.

Committee members also added language requiring prior approval for crowdfunding platforms such as GoFundMe and asking organizers to state the website URL, images to be used and plans for holding collected funds. The regulation asks parent organizations and school-sponsored groups to provide a brief annual summary of funds raised to improve transparency during the budget process.

Ralph Valenzizi, who presented the revisions to the committee, said the form is “very, very simple” and that staff will work with parent groups on how to complete it. Mary Ellen Fadi Ludwig, a board member, said the required summary “can be just what you keep as your record” and not an added paperwork burden.

The committee discussed keeping the process light for volunteers by accepting summary copies used for 501(c)(3) reporting. No formal vote to adopt the regulation was recorded during the meeting; staff described next steps as providing the form to PTA/PTO groups and continuing to finalize workflows.

Committee members emphasized that fundraising must not begin before district approval. The committee said superintendent-level approvals and finance reviews will apply when procurement or vendor selection is involved.

The presenter said he has shared the draft with the parent-organization council (PTOC) and that staff will provide demonstrations to help volunteers use the online form. The committee did not hold a formal adoption vote during the meeting; the regulation was described as ready to “move forward” to the next administrative steps.