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After audit finding, Bridgeport board will centralize student activity funds and clarify PAC/PTSO rules
Summary
Following audit findings, trustees approved centralizing more than 70 school activity accounts into the district accounting system, requiring receipts and oversight, and issuing p‑cards for routine small purchases; staff said PAC (Title I allocations) differs from student activity funds and will continue under separate rules.
The Board of Education directed the district to centralize student activity funds after auditors flagged weaknesses in how separate school checking accounts were managed. The director explained the district will close individual student activity checking accounts, transfer balances into the district's bank (Munis/Citibank) and assign account numbers in the central accounting system; schools will receive receipts and must justify purchases.
Explaining the difference, the director said PAC funds come from Title I allocations and expire each year, while student activity funds are locally raised and revolve from year to year. "We will close all student activity funds," the director said, describing the shift to district oversight, reconciliation procedures and requirements for parents' receipts.
Under the plan, schools will receive limited p‑cards (purchase cards) to handle small, day‑to‑day purchases (pizza for events, small supplies); larger purchases will go through the district requisition and purchasing system. Staff said the change responds to audit findings: some activity funds previously lacked consistent deposits and records, and consolidation will improve accountability.
Board members and parent representatives discussed safeguards to ensure PAC/PTSO funds are spent for parent engagement and not for purchases that should be district expenses. Administrators committed to issuing guidance and forms so principals and parent officers know how to report fundraising, deposit proceeds, and obtain receipts.
The board approved moving the updated activity‑fund procedures forward as part of the revised 3,000‑series policies; staff will return with the finalized language at the second reading and implementation steps for rolling the accounts into Munis.
