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Board asks staff to tighten controls on third‑party fundraising, add sponsorship language to policy
Summary
Trustees approved adding district sponsorships to the fundraising policy and asked staff to produce a procedure requiring approval, documentation and property ownership rules to address GoFundMe, DonorsChoose and similar campaigns.
Volusia County School Board members discussed proposed edits to Policy 707 to add district sponsorships and asked staff to draft a companion procedure to govern third‑party fundraising and donations.
Sarah Lux, who presented the item, described the policy change as “a simple revision” to add the district to an existing school fundraising policy and to explicitly include sponsorships. Board discussion quickly turned to unregulated online fundraising — examples included GoFundMe pages, Amazon wish lists and Cash App collections — that sometimes produce equipment or donations that lack consistent district oversight. Trustee Ruben Colon raised concerns about accountability, saying many well-intentioned efforts “require some oversight” and describing past instances in which donated items could not be used or were later removed from a campus when a teacher transferred.
Staff response and next steps: Board attorney and staff told trustees a procedure is already being developed alongside the policy that would include an application form, signature/designee approvals, descriptions of donated items and a process for recording donations. Dr. Balgobin confirmed staff will bring a draft procedure back for board review. Trustees recommended the draft procedure should include: clear definitions of ‘‘official fundraising,’’ signature approval by the principal for school-based drives, a process to route donations to the school bookkeeper for auditing when appropriate, a property-ownership statement clarifying that items purchased or donated for a school become school district property, and a stakeholder review group (teachers, office staff, administrators) to pilot the approach.
Why it matters: Trustees cited audit and compliance concerns for federal funds and internal controls: one member recalled a $6,000 set of scientific probes bought for a campus that became contentious when a teacher left with equipment perceived as school-owned. Staff said they will incorporate federal program requirements and common practices used in other districts.
Outcome: Direction to finalize a written procedure to accompany Policy 707 and to convene a working group (teachers across grade levels, office staff and administrators) to review the proposed process prior to returning the item to the board for formal adoption. The draft procedure will include a donation application and clear accountability steps so donations are recorded, tracked and posted for public disclosure when required.
