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Board raises staff-gift threshold to $200 in policy update
Summary
The board amended policy language on staff gifts, removing an earlier sentence about discouraging gifts from students and increasing a per-vendor threshold from $100 to $200.
The Seaman USD 345 Board of Education approved an amendment to Board Policy GHA (gifts). The board removed an opening sentence that discouraged gift-giving between students and staff and raised the reportable-per-vendor threshold from $100 to $200 per fiscal year.
Board policy now states that staff members are prohibited from receiving gifts that exceed $200 per fiscal year from a single vendor, salesperson or representative; principals may approve exceptions tied to specific circumstances. The change reflects board discussion that $100 had become a low threshold given rising costs for modest hospitality and that a higher, clearly stated limit would be administrable.
Board members discussed the policy’s intent: to prevent gifts that could influence professional judgment while allowing routine, modest items (for example food during staff appreciation events) to occur without bureaucratic friction. The policy passed on a voice vote.
