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Board approves a lower‑fee ACH window for online school payments; staff to study state set‑off collections
Summary
The board approved a plan to open short enrollment windows allowing parents to link checking accounts while the district covers a flat $0.75 ACH fee (estimated ~$2,000); administrators also discussed using the state's set‑off program for long‑term unpaid student fees and will return with dollar thresholds.
The Jefferson West board approved a proposed change to the district's eFunds collection process to reduce convenience fees for families and encourage timely payments. Under the plan approved by motion, the district will open limited enrollment windows (for example, two months around the start of each semester) allowing parents to attach checking‑account information; the district will cover a flat $0.75 per ACH transaction during that window, an approach staff estimated would cost roughly $2,000 and be far less than prior annual convenience fees.
Administrators explained the change is intended to simplify payments during high‑volume enrollment periods and reduce barriers that had driven parents to avoid online payments. The proposal excludes credit‑card transactions (which remain percentage fees) and focuses on ACH/checking entry. Staff also said Skyward notification settings can be customized to send low‑balance alerts earlier.
Separately, board members discussed collections options for delinquent balances and asked staff to analyze using the state's set‑off program to collect long‑running debts (examples given: four or so accounts over $200 and a couple over $1,000). Staff will return with anonymized scenarios and recommended dollar thresholds for referring accounts to state set‑off or collections.
