Each month, LCW presents a monthly timeline of best practices for private and independent schools. The timeline runs from the fall semester through the end of summer break. LCW encourages schools to use the timeline as a guideline throughout the school year.
FEBRUARY- EARLY MARCH
- Issue enrollment/tuition agreements for the following school year.
- Review field trip forms and agreements for any spring/summer field trips.
- Tax documents must be filed if School conducts raffles:
- Schools must require winners of prizes to complete a Form W-9 for all prizes $600 and above. The School must also complete Form W-2G and provide it to the recipient at the event. The School should provide the recipient of the prize copies B, C, and 2 of Form W-2G; the School retains the rest of the copies. The School must then submit Copy A of Form W2-G and Form 1096 to the IRS by February 28th of the year after the raffle prize is awarded.
MARCH- END OF APRIL
- The budget for next school year should be approved by the Board.
- Issue contracts to existing staff for the next school year.
- Issue letters to current staff who the School is not inviting to come back the following year.
- Assess vacancies in relation to enrollment.
- Post job announcements and conduct recruiting
– Resumes should be carefully screened to ensure that applicant has necessary core skills and criminal, background and credit checks should be done, along with multiple reference checks.
- Consider whether summer program will be offered and if so, identify the nature of the program and anticipated staffing and other requirements; advise staff of summer program and opportunity to apply to work in the summer and that hiring decisions will be made after final enrollment numbers are determined in the end of May.
- Distribute information on summer program to parents and set end date for registration by end of April.
MAY
- Complete hiring of new employees for next school year.
- Complete hiring for any summer programs.
- If service agreements expire at the end of the school year, review service agreements to determine whether to change service providers (e.g. janitorial services if applicable).
- Employees of a contracted entity are required to be fingerprinted pursuant to Education Code sections 33192, if they provide the following services:
– School and classroom janitorial.
– School site administrative.
– School site grounds and landscape maintenance.
– Pupil transportation.
– School site food-related.
- A private school contracting with an entity for construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or repair of a school facilities where the employees of the entity will have contact, other than limited contact, with pupils, must ensure one of the following:
- That there is a physical barrier at the worksite to limit contact with pupils.
- That there is continual supervision and monitoring of all employees of that entity, which may include either:
– surveillance of employees of the entity by School personnel; or
– supervision by an employee of the entity who the Department of Justice has ascertained has not been convicted of a violent or serious felony (which may be done by fingerprinting pursuant to Education Code section 33192). (See Education Code section 33193).
If conducting end of school year fundraising:
Raffles:
- Qualified tax-exempt organizations, including nonprofit educational organizations, may conduct raffles under Penal Code section 320.5.
- In order to comply with Penal Code section 320.5. raffles must meet all of the following requirements
- Each ticket must be sold with a detachable coupon or stub, and both the ticket and its associated coupon must be marked with a unique and matching identifier.
- Winners of the prizes must be determined by draw from among the coupons or stubs. The draw must be conducted in California under the supervision of a natural person who is 18 years of age or older
- At least 90 percent of the gross receipts generated from the sale of raffle tickets for any given draw must be used by to benefit the school or provide support for beneficial or charitable purposes.
Auctions:
- The school must charge sales or use tax on merchandise or goods donated by a donor who paid sales or use tax at time of purchase.
- Donations of gift cards, gift certificates, services, or cash donations are not subject to sales tax since there is not an exchange of merchandise or goods.
- Items withdrawn from a seller’s inventory and donated directly to nonprofit schools located in California are not subject to use tax.
Ex: If a business donates items that it sells directly to the school for the auction, the school does not have to charge sales or use taxes. However, if a parent goes out and purchases items to donate to an auction (unless those items are gift certificates, gift cards, or services), the school will need to charge sales or use taxes on those items.
