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Board considers county shared-service to help collect unpaid student fees; staff to return with agreement
Summary
Administration presented background on unpaid fees (meal balances, course and equipment fees) and discussed using a county shared-service to collect debts; staff estimated tens of thousands in outstanding balances and the board asked for a proposed intergovernmental agreement to return in April.
Jonathan, who presented the district’s finance materials, briefed the board on outstanding fees (meal balances, course fees, and equipment damages) and possible options to improve collections.
Jonathan said the district first uses direct mail, phone calls and email, then refers unresolved accounts to the business office. The administration discussed a county shared-service approach used by neighboring districts; staff said that county program reduced its collection fee from a higher starting point to about 28% and that other nearby districts reported positive experiences.
When asked how much is outstanding, Jonathan said the figure fluctuates and estimated "tens of thousands" of dollars in unpaid fees; he added that about 20 students currently have meal debt over $500 and that chronic meal balances account for a substantial share of negative balances. "We may be… tens of thousands because we're probably up to 20 (students) when we figure fees on that as well," Jonathan said.
Board members discussed tradeoffs, including staff bandwidth and collection fees; one board member noted an advantage in having a county agency perform tax intercepts and other recovery tools the district does not have. The board asked administration to draft and bring back an intergovernmental agreement for the board to consider in April.
The board did not approve a contract at this meeting and directed staff to return with a proposed agreement and more detailed figures.
