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Graduate urges Jefferson School District to restore $753.56 from class account
Summary
A 2021 graduate told the Jefferson School District board that roughly $753.56 raised by her class was transferred out under district policy without student notification; the board said it cannot act on the comment but will follow up and consider restoring funds and reviewing the policy.
Anna Palmer, a 2021 Jefferson High School graduate, told the board she and classmates discovered about $753.56 remaining from their class fund had been moved to the school after the account was labeled inactive. "We were never given access to this account" and "we were never informed of the one-year inactivity policy," Palmer said, asking the district to restore the money or direct an equivalent amount toward their reunion.
Palmer said the class raised the funds through a coupon-book fundraiser intended for prom and a senior gift; because the class did not hold a prom during COVID-19, the funds remained for future class use. She said she had contacted the former class advisor and then Ryan Brandt, identified in her remarks as the district's director of business services, who told them the money had been transferred under district policy 6611A.
The chair told Palmer the board could not take action on an item not posted on the agenda but that staff would follow up. Board members suggested two follow-up paths: (1) consider restoring the students' money to the class account, and (2) review whether district policy language or bank practices resulted in unintended transfers of small, student-raised accounts.
Palmer provided the specific amount in later remarks: "$753.56," and asked the board to either reinstate that balance to the class account or direct an equivalent amount to the class. Board members noted that bank inactivity rules can also close accounts and that the administration will investigate whether the transfer followed the district's stated policy process.
The board did not take action at the meeting; the chair said he would discuss the matter with the district business director and consider placing the issue on a future board agenda for formal review and possible remedy.
The board suggested staff report back with documentation of the transfer, the policy language cited (Policy 6611A), and options to restore the funds or amend procedures to prevent similar outcomes for other class accounts.
