July 19, 2026 — Agenda
School District of Clayton First Reading of Policy | Action Required Board of Education
Page 1 of 1 Revision to Policy KH – Public Gifts April 30, 2025
Summary Policy is how a board sustainably exercises its authority to govern. Through policy, school boards establish cohesive guidelines to advance vision into reality. Missouri School Boards Association (MSBA) provides policy services to the School District of Clayton. Periodically, MSBA recommends policy revisions due to legislative changes at the State and Federal levels, or due to precedent setting court rulings.
Description of Agenda Item Policy KH relates to Public Gifts to Schools
Proposed revisions to this policy include: 1. Establishing policy relating to crowdfunding 2. Moving the provisions of Policy FFA relating to memorials in District facilities/grounds to this policy.
This is a first reading of the policy revision. A second reading and adoption of revised Policy KH is anticipated May 14, 2025.
Recommendation Review and consider revised Policy KH relating to public gifts for a first reading.
Motion Proposed revised Policy KH relating to public gifts is hereby given a first reading.
Submitted by: John Brazeal, Chief Financial Officer
Policy KH: PUBLIC GIFTS TO THE SCHOOLS Status: DRAFT Original Adopted Date: 06/10/2015 24B UPDATE EXPLANATION MSBA has updated this policy to address crowd-sourced fundraising and incorporate the content of policy FFA, Memorials on Facilities and grounds. Definitions Crowdfunding – The activity or process of raising money through solicitations, typically via an online community or platform. Crowdfunding does not include district requests for direct gifts made using the district's social media accounts or website. District-Approved Crowdfunding – Crowdfunding activities approved by the superintendent or designee and initiated by the district, a district employee, or any agent or volunteer acting on behalf of the district, even if the district is not specifically named. Gifts – For the purpose of this policy, any gift, donation, or bequest made to the district or a district foundation. Gifts, Donations and Bequests to the District Foundation The School District of Clayton Board of Educationboard of education encourages the community to direct all gifts, donations or bequests ("gifts") to the Clayton Education Foundation created to support the district. Gifts, donations and bequests made to foundations are not considered public funds, which allows the district greater flexibility in using the funds for the benefit of the district. Further, a foundation is eligible for grants and gifts not otherwise available to governmental entities. Gifts, Donations and Bequests to the District All gifts accepted by the district will become the property of the district.All gifts the district accepts will become district property, and the board, in its discretion, may expend or use them, in accordance with board policies and law, for the district's benefit. In general, the superintendent or designee is authorized to accept gifts to the school district, but the board must take actionvote to accept all contributionsgifts of real property and gifts that require ongoing annual service, a maintenance fee, significant personnel time, or initial or continuing financial commitments from the district or gifts of real property. In deciding whether to accept a gift, the superintendent, the board, or its designee will minimally consider whether the contributiongift: 1. wWill further the goals of the district;, whether it
2. wWill be used;, whether it
3. iIs appropriate for the school environment; and whether it
4. wWill unequally distribute resources in the district. No gift will be accepted without verification that there are no encumbrances against the gift. The board requires gifts of real property to have acceptable evidence of title and the district's agreement to accept any encumbrances on the property. The superintendent or designee will report aAll accepted gifts accepted will be reported to the board. of education, Gifts will be publicly announced and appropriately acknowledged. The donor will be officially thanked in the district’s name unless the donor wishes to remain anonymous. Memorials Memorials are a special type of gift, subject to the general provisions above, given in memory of a deceased Board Policy Manual Clayton
individualto commemorate an individual or event. Memorial text on physical items must be simply presented as the name of the individual or event; birth, death, or event dates and the words "donated in memory of" or "in memory of" unless the board specially permits a variation of this language. Memorials such as planting or benches are accepted in accordance with the district's policies on buildings and grounds. As with all gifts, items received as memorials become the property of the School District of Clayton. The district recognizes the following as appropriate forms of memorialization: 1. Memorial scholarships – Application and award guidelines should be finalized prior to the scholarship being announced. A typed copy of the application and award guidelines along with the timeline for the scholarship implementation is to be kept on file at the office of the building principal or designee. If desired, the district Foundation may be used as a resource to establish and administer the scholarship.The district must first approve the award criteria, the administrative process, and the process to be used if the scholarship becomes insolvent or the principal is significantly diminished.
2. Purchases of library materials, school supplies, and equipment – Selections must be aligned with the district's needs and curriculum.
3. Plants and trees – The administration must approve the type and placement of any planting before it is placed.
4. Benches, tables, and other outdoor fixtures, such as sidewalks, stones, and statuary – The district will accept this type of memorial only to the extent that there is a suitable location and the style is complementary to the buildings and grounds. District-Approved Crowdfunding The rules in this section apply only to district-approved crowdfunding activities. The purpose of these controls is not to thwart the charitable intentions of donors but to promote legal compliance, consistent messaging, and confidence in the handling of funds, as well as to prevent duplication of efforts and gift purposes. The superintendent or designee shall vet proposed crowdfunding platforms and limit them to those with a satisfactory reputation and expected functionality for both donors and the district. Before a solicitation through crowdfunding, the superintendent or designee must give approval in writing after reviewing all relevant details of the request. The superintendent or designee's review must include, but is not limited to: 1. An assessment of legal and district policy compliance;
2. A determination of whether the crowdfunding will interfere with other fundraising efforts;
3. Assurance that the district does not have the targeted property, supplies, or materials (if any); and
4. An investigation into whether the district can adequately support, store, or maintain the gift when received. In district-approved crowdfunding, the requesting party hosting the solicitation is the agent of the school district for financial purposes. The personal profile of the requesting party as it appears on the website or platform must reference the party's connection to the district. All funds, supplies, materials, and property that are donated via district-approved crowdfunding are considered the property of the district, not the requesting party. The crowdfunded gift(s) will be transferred from the crowdfunding website or platform directly to the district whenever possible. The superintendent or designee is responsible for determining how and where to use the gifts in a manner consistent with the purpose of the crowdfunding request. The district does not issue individual acknowledgments or receipts to crowdfunding donors, although the crowdfunding site may do so. Donors are responsible for their own tax considerations and documentation when using crowdfunding to support the district. Portions © 2024, Missouri School Boards' Association Version KH-C.1C.CLT (05/24)
Cross References Description ECB BUILDING AND GROUNDS MAINTENANCE IIAC INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA CENTERS/SCHOOL LIBRARIES 3