Grey Street Primary School

Outstanding Debts Policy

 

Rationale:

·        School Council has a responsibility to manage the finances of the school, and in doing so, must ensure that a fair and reasonable process for managing debts is developed and implemented.

 

Aims:

·        To minimise outstanding debts, and to provide for managing outstanding debts should they occur.

 

Implementation:

·        School Council will consider the costs associated with parent-funded materials, services and activities, and the capacity of parents to pay, when making decisions related to such materials, services or activities.

·        School Council will ensure the costs associated with parent-funded materials, services and activities, due dates for payment, and policy relating to refunds are notified to parents well in advance so as to allow maximum time for parents to budget for these expenses.

·        School Council will provide opportunities for all parents experiencing financial difficulties to enter into alternative and confidential payment arrangements with the Principal in regard to parent-funded materials, services and activities.

·        School Council will allocate funds in its annual budget for assisting families experiencing financial hardship to meet the costs of parent-funded materials, services and activities.  Such assistance will be provided at the discretion of the Principal and will be confidential.

·        Outstanding debts are considered to be debts that occur when parents agree to pay for parent-funded materials, services and activities (see Executive Memo 029/99) which their children use and then they don’t pay, or when payments for the hire of school facilities are not made in accordance with agreements between the hirer and School Council. 

·        Unpaid Voluntary Contributions, or non-payment in full by the due date for parent-funded materials, services and activities by parents who have made alternative arrangements with the Principal, do not constitute outstanding debts.

·        The Principal, together with the School Council Treasurer, will be responsible for managing all outstanding debts.

·        Outstanding debts in excess of 14 days will result in a letter from School Council.

·        Outstanding debts in excess of 28 days will result in a telephone call from the Principal.

·        Parents with outstanding debts in excess of 40 days, and parents who have agreed to alternative payment arrangements with the Principal but have then reneged upon the arrangement, will be required to pay for all future activities in advance until such time as all outstanding debts have been cleared.

·        Outstanding debts will carry over from one year to another.

·        Students will not be denied access to materials, services and activities for which their parents have paid simply because there is an outstanding debt relating to an earlier provision of materials, services or activities.

·        Community groups, individuals or organisations that hire school facilities, and that accrue outstanding debts to the school for the hire of those facilities, will have access suspended until all debts are cleared.

·        Debt collectors will not be used to collect debts from parents, but School Council may consider using a debt collector to recover funds from community groups, individuals or organisations that hire school facilities and have accrued outstanding debts to the school.

 

Evaluation:

·        This policy will be reviewed as part of the school’s cyclical review process.

References:  Executive Memo No 029/99 – Voluntary Contributions and School Charges.