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CFO proposes Elavon card-processing rollout; terminals may be rented, 3% convenience fee passed to consumers
Summary
CFO Kathy Sanders told the April 27 agenda-review the district plans to contract with Elavon to accept card payments — including tap/swipe, QR codes and emailed links — with terminals available to schools (rental $10/month or purchase ~$400) and a 3% convenience fee passed to the payer; staff said integration and tracking challenges remain.
Kathy Sanders, the districtCFO, presented a plan to implement Elavon as the districts credit-card processor and said staff will seek board approval at the next meeting for a phased rollout.
Sanders said Elavon offers multiple payment options (tap/swipe, Apple Pay, QR codes and emailed payment links) and that the agreement carries no direct district processing fee beyond the cost of terminals. She said schools can choose to rent terminals for $10 a month or purchase devices (about $400), and she recommended rental to ease replacements and keep hardware current.
Why it matters: The change would let parents and community members pay for spirit wear, concessions, field trips and other items more easily, and could broaden fundraising options for schools and clubs that lack a separate 501(c)(3) account. However, staff warned that linking free-text payments to student IDs (for example, matching a payment to a field trip or lunch account) will require back-end work and integration with existing systems such as eFund/Focus to avoid accounting and reconciliation issues.
Sanders said the consumer-facing convenience fee will be 3 percent and will be passed to the payer after the transaction. Board member Cox asked explicitly whether Apple Pay and similar mobile wallets will be supported; Sanders confirmed Apple Pay is included among the tap-and-wallet options.
Staff said they will pilot the system with a small set of high schools and district locations to refine accounting procedures and work through linking payments to the correct internal accounts and booster-club structures. They asked for patience during the initial rollout so back-end procedures and bookkeeper training can be refined.
The board took no formal vote in the workshop; Sanders said staff will present the agreement for approval at the next board meeting.
