LEC Booster Organizations

                                                                                               Board Policy Manual
                                                                                       DeKalb County School District




 Board Policy LEC: Booster Organizations                                                                  Status: ADOPTED

 Original Adopted Date: 09/12/2005 | Last Revised Date: 09/21/2011


The DeKalb County Board of Education encourages parent participation in all aspects of student life in the DeKalb
County School District. Parents and others who wish to support school programs are encouraged to participate in
various booster clubs and other parent volunteer organizations, which play an important role in supporting,
encouraging, and advancing school programs. As used in this policy, the term “booster club” refers to all parent
volunteer organizations that support school programs in the District, other than PTA’s and PTSA’s.



The Board establishes the following guidelines for the establishment and operation of all booster clubs supporting
District schools:



1.   The sole purpose of a booster club is to support a school and its programs.



2.   Each booster club must be approved by the local school principal.



3. Each booster club will have written bylaws with clearly defined objectives approved by the principal or his/her
designee.



4. Each booster club will abide by federal and state laws and all Board policies and District procedures and
guidelines.



5. The principal or his/her designee will be invited and encouraged to attend all booster club meetings. The school
sponsor for the relevant school program will attend all booster club meetings.



6. All fund-raising activities in support of the school must have the approval of the principal or his/her designee
and be consistent with all relevant Board policies. Booster club activities must not conflict with or detract from
instructional time.



7. Elections of booster club officers will be announced to the general membership, the principal, and the school
sponsor at least thirty days prior to the election. It is strongly recommended that each officer be a parent or
guardian of a student enrolled in the school at the time of election.



8.   Each booster club will submit annually a list of officers, with contact information, to the principal.



9. Each booster club will prepare an annual budget and allow the principal or his/her designee to review the
annual budget prior to each school year to provide advice regarding its effect on the relevant school program.
10. Each booster club will have its own financial account, separate from the school, and will provide access to its
financial records to the principal or his/her designee and to booster club members upon request. Booster clubs are
expected to follow good business practices in all cash handling matters including use of prenumbered cash receipts
and timely deposit of funds. Booster club funds must never be commingled with student activity funds, PTA or PTSA
funds, or other school or District funds. Deficit financing and deferred payments are prohibited.



11. Each booster club will have procedures for an annual financial review at the following levels:

         a. Booster clubs with annual revenue above $2500 but less than $5000 will participate in an annual peer
            financial review.
         b. Booster clubs with annual revenues of $5000 or greater but less than $25,000 will have a financial
            review by an accountant who is not an officer of the booster club.
         c. Booster clubs with revenues of $25,000 or greater will have an annual financial review by a certified
            public accountant who is not an officer of the booster club.



Annual financial reviews shall be completed no later than three months following the end of the school year, and a
copy shall be provided to the school principal and to all booster club members. At any time, the Superintendent
may order that a booster club’s financial records be audited by an independent accounting firm or accountant
selected by the Superintendent at the District’s expense.



12. Booster clubs are encouraged to become incorporated and to file with the Internal Revenue Service for 501(c)(3)
non-profit, charitable status. Each booster club is responsible for its own tax filings and accounting and must obtain
its own federal tax identification number.



13. All disbursements from a booster club’s bank account will be by check only and will be properly documented.
 Each check must contain the signatures of both the booster club president and the treasurer, although the vice
president’s signature may be substituted for the president’s signature if allowed by club bylaws.



14. A booster club may donate funds to the school or to the District, and the booster club relinquishes all control
over donated funds.



15. A booster club may purchase supplies and/or equipment to be donated to the school or to the District. The
booster club’s purchase of supplies and/or equipment for donation does not obligate the school or the District to pay
the vendor, even if the supplies and/or equipment are delivered directly to the school.



16. All donations given to the school will be accepted by the principal, who will complete a Statement of Donated
Funds, a copy of which will be provided to the booster club.



17. No District employee may hold any office in a booster club, appear on a signature card for any booster club bank
account, or sign checks for a booster club.



18. The Superintendent may dissolve any booster club that does not adhere to these guidelines, including those that
exhibit serious financial irregularities. The assets of the dissolved booster club will be disbursed in accordance with
the club bylaws and state law. If a dissolved booster club has no bylaws, its assets will become the property of the
District.