Check Writing Guidelines

Business Services issues checks on Weekly (Due by 8:00 AM Wednesday) and Bi-Monthly (Due seven (7) business days prior to the Board meeting) recurring cycles. In order to have checks available on the desired date, the materials must be received by Business Services in time to meet the deadlines associated with the recurring cycles. Deadlines for the issuing of checks can come earlier than the recurring cycle when events such as holidays and changes to board meeting dates occur.

The nature of the payment will determine if the check is processed within the Weekly cycle or Bi-Monthly cycle.

In emergency situations, an individual check may be issued outside the Weekly and Bi-Monthly cycles. Issuing individual checks is inefficient and susceptible to problems avoided by the consistency of Weekly and Bi-Monthly checks. Issuing individual checks should be avoided by thoughtful preplanning. Special justifications and approvals must be received when requesting issuance of an individual check.

The District operates on a fiscal year running from July 1 to June 30. A timely and accurate closure to the end of fiscal year activities is important in meeting financial reporting timelines for the Auditor and Department of Public Instruction. A timely and accurate close to the fiscal year activities also promotes the most timely and accurate budgeting decisions for the upcoming year.

The District has adopted guidelines related to purchases that occur in the final quarter (April, May, June) of the fiscal year to help achieve a timely and accurate closure to the fiscal year-end. These guidelines are related to the issuing of Purchase Orders, submittal of expenses and other disbursement requests. For additional information see Administrative Rule 671.4 Expense Reimbursement.