A. Upon written application to and approval of the department, a local school board may be designated a board of finance for public school funds of the school district. A local school board designated as a board of finance may require all funds distributed to, allocated to or collected for the school district or the public schools under its jurisdiction to be deposited with it. The department shall designate a local school board as a board of finance if:

(1) the local school board shows to the satisfaction of the department that it has personnel properly trained to keep accurate and complete fiscal records;

(2) the local school board agrees to consult with the department on any matters not covered by the manual of accounting and budgeting before taking any action relating to funds held by it as a board of finance;

(3) the persons handling these funds are adequately bonded to protect the funds entrusted to them from loss; and

(4) the local school board making application has not been suspended and not reinstated as a board of finance within the past year.

B. A charter school applicant requesting a charter from the commission shall submit a plan detailing how its governing body will qualify for designation as a board of finance for public school funds of the charter school. The governing body of a proposed state-chartered charter school shall qualify as a board of finance before the first year of operation of the charter school. The governing body of a state-chartered charter school designated as a board of finance may require all funds distributed to, allocated to or collected for the state-chartered charter school to be deposited with the governing body. The commission shall designate the governing body of a state-chartered charter school as a board of finance if:

(1) the governing body shows to the satisfaction of the commission that it has personnel properly trained to keep accurate and complete fiscal records;

(2) the governing body agrees to consult with the division on any matters not covered by the manual of accounting and budgeting before taking any action relating to funds held by it as a board of finance;

(3) the persons handling these funds are adequately bonded to protect the funds entrusted to them from loss; and

(4) the governing body was not a governing body of a charter school or does not have a member who was a member of a governing body of a charter school that was suspended and not reinstated as a board of finance.

C. Failure of the governing body of a proposed state-chartered charter school to qualify for designation as a board of finance constitutes good and just grounds for denial, nonrenewal or revocation of its charter.

History: 1953 Comp., § 77-6-42, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16, § 96; 1988, ch. 64, § 35; 2006, ch. 94, § 23.

The 2006 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, changed "state superintendent" to "department" in Subsection A and in Paragraphs (1) and (2) of Subsection A; added Subsection B to provide for the designation of boards of finance for charter schools and state-chartered charter schools and the criteria for designation of the governing body of a state-chartered charter school as a board of finance; and added Subsection C to provide that failure of a governing body of a state-chartered charter school to qualify as a board of finance is grounds for denial, nonrenewal or revocation of its charter.

The 1988 amendment, effective May 18, 1988, substituted "state superintendent" for "chief" throughout the section; deleted "of the division" following "manual of accounting and budgeting" in Subsection B; and made a minor stylistic change in Subsection C.