CALIFORNIA STATUTES AND CODES
SECTIONS 42630-42652
EDUCATION CODE
SECTION 42630-42652
42630. Except as otherwise provided in this code, money shall be
paid from the funds of any school district for the payment of the
expenses of the district, only as provided in this article.
42631. All payments from the funds of a school district shall be
made by written order of the governing board of the district. Orders
shall be on forms prescribed by the county superintendent of schools
unless the warrants are processed by an on-line data processing
system. Forms may be printed and furnished by the board of
supervisors or the county superintendent of schools.
42632. Each order drawn on the funds of a school district shall be
signed by at least a majority of the members of the governing board
of the district, or by a person or persons authorized by the
governing board to sign orders in its name. No person other than an
officer or employee of the district shall be authorized to sign
orders.
42633. The governing board of each school district shall be
responsible for filing or causing to be filed with the county
superintendent of schools the verified signature of each person,
including members of the governing board, authorized to sign orders
in its name. Except for districts determined to be fiscally
accountable pursuant to Section 42650, no order on the funds of any
school district shall be approved by the county superintendent of
schools unless the signatures are on file in his office and he is
satisfied that the signatures on the order are those of persons
authorized to sign the order.
42634. Each order drawn against the funds of a school district
shall be numbered and shall state: (a) the particular fund or funds
of the district against which it is drawn, (b) the amount of the
payment to be made from each fund, and (c) the rate of salary and the
period of service of any employee of the district for whom an order
is issued for payment of salary or wages.
If drawn for any purpose other than the payment of salaries or
wages of school district employees, the order shall be accompanied by
an itemized bill showing the separate items and the price of each.
Notwithstanding that requirement, if the county superintendent of
schools determines that including an itemized bill with the order is
impractical under the system of payment utilized, the itemized bill
showing the separate items and the price of each shall instead be
retained by the school district and shall be available for audit as
directed by the county auditor.
42635. Each order drawn against the funds of a school district
shall be transmitted to the county superintendent of schools, and, if
approved and signed by him shall become a requisition on the county
auditor. The county superintendent may prescribe alternative
procedures for districts determined to be fiscally accountable
pursuant to Section 42650.
42636. (a) The county superintendent of schools may examine each
order on school district funds transmitted to him or her, in the
order in which it is received in his or her office. If it appears
that the order is properly drawn for the payment of legally
authorized expenses against the proper funds of the district, and
that there are sufficient moneys in the fund or funds against which
the order is drawn to pay it, the county superintendent shall endorse
upon it "examined and approved," and shall, in attestation thereof,
affix his or her signature and number and date the requisition and
transmit it directly to the county auditor, in the order in which the
order is received in his or her office. The county superintendent
may prescribe alternative methods for districts determined to be
fiscally accountable pursuant to Section 42650.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the county superintendent may
allow electronic transfers, upon approval of the county auditor.
42637. If at any time during a fiscal year the county
superintendent of schools concludes that the budget of any school
district within his or her jurisdiction does not comply with the
standards and criteria for fiscal stability developed pursuant to
Section 33127 for that fiscal year, he or she shall notify the
Superintendent of Public Instruction and the district in writing of
that conclusion and may conduct a comprehensive review of the
financial and budgetary conditions of the district. The
superintendent shall report his or her findings and recommendations
to the governing board of the district and the Superintendent of
Public Instruction and may include recommendations of methods by
which the budgeted expenditures for the balance of the fiscal year
may be brought into balance with the revenue of the district. That
report shall be made to the governing board at a public meeting of
the governing board. The governing board shall, no later than 15 days
after receipt of the report, notify the county superintendent of
schools and the Superintendent of Public Instruction of its proposed
actions on their recommendations.
42638. (a) If the order is disapproved by the county superintendent
of schools, it shall be returned to the governing board of the
school district, except as otherwise provided in this code for the
registration of warrants, with a statement of his or her reasons for
disapproving the order.
(b) If the county superintendent determines that there is evidence
that fraud or misappropriation of funds has occurred, the county
superintendent shall notify the governing board of the school
district, the State Controller, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, and the local district attorney.
42639. The county auditor may examine each order and requisition on
school district funds transmitted to him by the county
superintendent of schools. If he allows the order and requisition, he
shall endorse thereon "examined and allowed," and shall date,
number, and sign it, whereupon it shall become a warrant on the
county treasurer. The auditor shall detach any bill attached to the
requisition, and shall number the bill, giving it the same number
which he gives the warrant, and file it in his office. He shall
thereupon return the order, requisition, and warrant to the county
superintendent of schools who shall transmit it to the governing
board of the school district for issuance to the payee or to his
order.
Any requisition of the county superintendent of schools, whether
based upon written order of the governing board of a school district
or authorized by law, shall constitute full authority for the
signature for allowance thereof by the county auditor as a warrant on
the county treasurer, and no other authority shall be necessary or
required for such action by the county auditor.
"Requisition," as used in this section, includes any order or
demand signed by the county superintendent of schools directing the
county auditor to draw his warrant on the county treasurer.
42639.1. The county auditor may authorize the destruction of any
bill or supporting document received from a school district for
purposes of Section 42639 if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The record, paper, or document is photographed,
microphotographed, or reproduced on film of a type approved for
permanent photographic records by the National Bureau of Standards;
(b) The device used to reproduce such record, paper, or document
on film is one which accurately reproduces the original thereof in
all details; and
(c) The photographs, microphotographs, or other reproductions on
film are placed in conveniently accessible files and provision is
made for preserving, examining, and using the same.
42640. In lieu of drawing his warrant as provided in Section 42639,
the county auditor may, with the approval of the governing board of
the school district, endorse, date, and number the order and
requisition and may prepare a separate warrant on the county
treasurer for the same amount as the order and requisition. The
warrant shall show that it had been drawn on the order of a school
district naming the school district and shall show, the payee, date
of issue, as well as other information deemed appropriate by the
auditor.
The auditor shall draw such separate warrant by signing it and no
other signature shall be required. Thereupon the auditor shall
transmit the separate warrant to the county superintendent of schools
who shall transmit it to the governing board of the school district
for issuance to the payee or to his order, or with the approval of
the governing board of the school district, shall transmit it to the
payee.
The order and requisition may direct the transfer of the amount of
the separate warrant from the funds of the district to a clearing
fund in the county treasury (to be known as the schools commercial
revolving fund), to the end that separate warrants for all districts
may be drawn against a single revolving fund.
42641. The governing board of any school district may, with the
approval of the county auditor and county treasurer, in lieu of
issuing single orders for the payment of the salary or wages of each
employee, issue payroll orders, on forms prescribed by the county
superintendent of schools and approved by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, for the payment of the salaries or wages of two
or more employees. Payroll orders may be drawn only for the payment
of salaries and wages of employees, and shall constitute requisitions
on the county auditor and warrants on the county treasurer when
approved and signed by the county superintendent of schools and
allowed and signed by the county auditor, respectively.
42642. Each payroll order drawn pursuant to this article shall be
drawn, approved, and issued in the same manner and shall contain the
same minimum content as prescribed for single orders. Each payroll
order shall list the names of all employees in whose favor the order
is drawn and shall state the amount of money due each.
42643. The superintendent of schools of each county shall keep,
open to the inspection of the public, a register of warrants, showing
the fund upon which the requisitions have been drawn, the number, in
whose favor, and for what purpose they were drawn.
The county superintendent shall prescribe rules for school
districts he determines to be fiscally accountable, pursuant to
Section 42650, that retain copies of warrants and supporting
documents within the district files.
42644. Orders for the payment of wages and payroll orders for the
payment of wages of employees employed full time in positions not
requiring certification qualifications shall be drawn twice during
each calendar month on days designated in advance by the governing
board of each school district to which this section is made
applicable. Labor performed between the 1st and 15th days, inclusive,
of any calendar month shall be paid for between the 16th and 26th
day of the month during which the labor was performed, and labor
performed between the 16th and the last day inclusive, of any
calendar month, shall be paid for between the 1st and 10th day of the
following month.
The governing board of each school district which has an average
daily attendance of 5,000 or more, and the governing board of each
school district with an average daily attendance of less than 5,000
in a county with a population in excess of 4,000,000 persons as
determined by the 1960 federal census, shall make the provisions of
this section applicable to the board, whenever a majority of the
employees of the district employed full time in positions not
requiring certification qualifications petition the board in writing
to do so.
The governing board of a school district which has an average
daily attendance of less than 5,000, other than such a school
district situated in a county with a population in excess of
4,000,000 persons as determined by the 1960 federal census, may, on
the petition in writing of a majority of the employees of the
district employed full time in positions not requiring certification
qualifications, make the provisions of this section applicable to the
board.
42645. In any unified school district with 100,000 or more average
daily attendance as an alternative to the payment procedures
prescribed by Section 42644, orders for the payment of wages, and
payroll orders for the payment of wages and warrants for the payment
of wages of employees employed full time in positions not requiring
certification qualifications shall be drawn once each two weeks,
twice a month, or once each four weeks on days designated in advance
by the governing board of the district. Labor performed during each
such payroll period shall be paid for not later than the eighth
working day of the following payroll period.
42646. In any county, the county superintendent of schools, with
the approval of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the county
board of education, and the county auditor, may prescribe a payroll
procedure, to be followed by designated districts in the county,
under which the school district governing boards, by use of payroll
orders, shall authorize and direct the county superintendent of
schools and the county auditor to draw separate payroll warrants in
the names of the individual district employees for the respective
amounts set forth therein to the end that each employee may be
furnished with a statement of the amount earned and an itemization of
the amounts withheld therefrom under requirements of the law or by
direction of the employee.
The payroll warrants shall show the closing date of the pay period
for which issued and the date of issue and a statement that it is
drawn by order of the governing board of the district and shall bear
the signature of the county auditor.
To obtain the advantage of a uniform pay period and pay date
within school districts, the payroll procedure may specify the ending
date of the pay period and, notwithstanding Sections 42644, 45040,
and 45048, the date of issue for payroll warrants, except that the
issue date shall be on or before the 10th calendar day following the
end of the pay period. The payroll procedure may provide for salary
payments, including salary advances, more frequently than once a
month.
The payroll procedure may provide for payroll orders authorizing
salary payments to individual employees on a continuing basis until
notifications of changes or adjustments are submitted by the school
districts, provided that an itemized listing of payments made under
this procedure is furnished to the school district on or before the
date of issue of the payroll warrants.
The payroll order may direct the transfer from the districts'
funds to a clearing fund in the county treasury, to be known as the
schools payroll revolving fund, of the total of the amount of the
payroll warrants to be issued under the order to the end that payroll
warrants for all districts may be drawn against a single revolving
fund. The payroll order may further direct the transfer from the
districts' funds of the totals of the various deductions set forth
therein to the trust funds in the county treasury entitled to receive
credit for them and may further direct the proper disbursement of
such trust amounts.
When the payroll procedure provides for payment of salary once
each month the payment shall be made on the last working day of the
month as required by Section 45166.
42646.3. A payroll clearance fund, for the purpose of consolidating
and balancing payroll deductions and other payroll accounting
purposes for one or more school district employees whose salary is
paid from one or more funds, may be established by the governing
board of the school district or, if the district operates under the
payroll procedures set forth in Section 42646, by the county
superintendent of schools.
42647. With the approval of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, the governing board of a unified school district, or
district with over 10,000 average daily attendance, may cause to be
drawn all warrants on the county treasurer against all the funds,
except debt service, of the district in the county treasury in the
payment of the expenses of the district. The warrants shall be issued
by a person designated as the district auditor or district
disbursing officer for the school district on the county treasurer in
favor of the persons entitled thereto in payment of all claims
chargeable against the district which have been legally examined,
allowed, and ordered paid by the governing board. The district
auditor shall issue warrants on the county treasurer for all debts
and demands against the district when the amounts are fixed by law.
The form of the warrant shall be as prescribed by the governing board
and approved by the county auditor or county treasurer having
jurisdiction.
Notwithstanding Section 42631, the cost of printing the warrants
shall be borne by the district.
No county officer shall be responsible for producing reports,
statements, and other data relating to or based on these payments of
the expenses of the districts. Those districts issuing warrants as
provided by this section shall provide the county superintendent of
schools, in the form prescribed by him or her, with the data
necessary to make retirement reports and other reports required of
him or her by law. All warrants, vouchers, and supporting documents
shall be kept by the school districts that draw their own warrants.
Notwithstanding Section 27005 of the Government Code, or any other
section requiring orders for warrants or warrants to be signed by
the county superintendent of schools or the county auditor, or both,
the county treasurer shall pay the warrant, if money is available.
Notwithstanding Section 41000, except for assessing and tax
collecting, the county auditor and the county treasurer may charge
those districts that draw their own warrants for the cost of all
fiscal services.
The person authorized by the governing board of the district to
issue warrants pursuant to this section shall execute an official
bond in an amount fixed by the governing board conditioned upon the
faithful performance of his or her duties under this section. A
county superintendent of schools or a county auditor shall not be
liable under the terms of their bonds or otherwise for any warrant
issued pursuant to this section. It is not intended that this
provision shall be applied so as to impair the obligation of any
contract in the bond of the officer in effect on the effective date
of this section.
A listing of the warrants issued under this section by each school
district shall be forwarded to the county auditor having
jurisdiction, upon his or her request, and to the county
superintendent of schools having jurisdiction over the district on
the same day warrants are issued. The listing, which may be magnetic
tape, punched cards, or in other form, shall report, among other
things, the warrant number, date of the warrant, amount of the
warrant, the name of the payee, and the fund on which the warrant is
drawn.
The form and content of the warrant listing shall be as prescribed
by the governing board and approved by the county auditor having
jurisdiction.
Each unified school district or district with over 10,000 average
daily attendance that issues warrants pursuant to this section shall
furnish monthly to the county superintendent of schools and the
county auditor of the county of jurisdiction, upon his or her
request, a statement showing for the current fiscal year to date, for
each required expenditure classification, the amount budgeted,
actual expenditures, encumbrances and unencumbered balances.
In order to obtain the approval of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, a unified school district, or district with over 10,000
average daily attendance, shall file a written application with the
county superintendent of schools of jurisdiction. Upon receipt of an
application from the district, the county superintendent of schools
shall cause a survey to be made of the district's accounting controls
by an independent certified public accountant or public accountant
in accordance with standards prescribed by the Controller. The
certified public accountant or public accountant shall report his or
her findings and recommendations to the county superintendent, county
auditor, and to the applicant district.
The county superintendent shall forward the district's
application, together with his or her other recommendations and the
recommendations of the county auditor and a report of the survey, to
the Superintendent of Public Instruction for approval or disapproval
of the application. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
approve the application only if he or she finds that the accounting
controls of the district are adequate. If the Superintendent of
Public Instruction determines that these controls are inadequate, he
or she shall disapprove the application.
The county superintendent of schools shall be reimbursed for all
costs incident to the accounting controls survey made pursuant to the
district's application from the district's funds.
When approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the
issuance of warrants pursuant to this section shall be effective at
the beginning of the fiscal year if the approval had been made prior
to the preceding first day in January. If the issuance of warrants
has been disapproved, the Superintendent of Public Instruction and
the county superintendent of schools shall state the specific steps
that must be taken by the school district in order to receive
approval. If at any time the county superintendent of schools
determines that the accounting controls of the district have become
inadequate, he or she may recommend to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction that the approval be revoked, to be effective on the
first day of the following fiscal year.
42648. The provisions of Article 3 (commencing with Section 29850)
of Chapter 5 of Division 3 of Title 3 of the Government Code shall be
applicable to any unified school district, or district with over
10,000 average daily attendance authorized to issue warrants pursuant
to Section 42647; except that whenever any reference is made in said
Article 3 to (1) the county auditor, or (2) the general fund of the
county, such reference shall be deemed, for purposes of this section,
to be to (1) the person authorized to issue warrants pursuant to
Section 42647, and (2) the general fund of the school district,
respectively.
42649.5. In a county in which the board of supervisors has
transferred educational functions to the county board of education
pursuant to Section 1080, and a single budget has been authorized for
the purposes of the county school service fund, county board of
education, county committee on school district organization, and the
office of the county superintendent of schools pursuant to Sections
1620 to 1625, inclusive, the duties of the county auditor specified
in this article shall be performed by the county superintendent of
schools.
A listing of all warrants approved and allowed by the county
superintendent of schools pursuant to this section shall be forwarded
to the county auditor on the same day the warrants are forwarded to
the school district or the payee. The form of the warrant and the
form and content of the warrant listing shall be as prescribed by the
county auditor.
Notwithstanding Section 27005 of the Government Code, or any other
section requiring orders for warrants or warrants to be signed by
the county auditor, the county treasurer in counties subject to this
section shall pay warrants which are signed by the county
superintendent of schools, and the county auditor shall not be liable
under his bond or otherwise for a warrant issued pursuant to this
section.
This section shall apply only in those counties in which the
county board of supervisors has adopted its provisions by resolution.
42650. With the approval of the county superintendent of schools,
the governing board of a school district may cause warrants to be
drawn on the county treasury against designated funds, except debt
service, of the district in the county treasury in the payment of
expenses of the district. The warrants for salary and other types of
claims designated by the county superintendent shall be issued by a
person designated as the district disbursing officer for the school
district on the county treasury in favor of the persons entitled
thereto in payment of all claims in designated categories chargeable
against the district which have been legally examined, allowed, and
ordered paid by the governing board. The district disbursing officer
shall issue warrants, using procedures prescribed by the county
auditor, on the county treasury for all debts and demands, within
categories designated by the county superintendent, against the
district when amounts are legally approved. The form of the warrant
shall be prescribed by, and approved by, the county auditor or county
treasurer having jurisdiction.
The cost of printing warrants may be charged to the district.
Notwithstanding Section 41000, except for assessing and tax
collecting, the county auditor and county treasurer may charge those
districts that draw their own warrants for the cost of all fiscal
services.
Notwithstanding Section 27005 of the Government Code, or any other
provision of law requiring orders for warrants or warrants to be
signed by the county superintendent of schools or the county auditor,
or both, the county superintendent and county auditor may prescribe
alternative procedures for districts to issue warrants. The district
disbursing officer shall not be considered a deputy county
superintendent of schools or a deputy county auditor. The county
treasurer shall pay the warrant in the designated category, if
district funds are available.
County officers shall not be responsible for providing reports,
statements, or other data relating to, or based on, the designated
payments of expenses of the district. Those districts issuing
warrants, as provided by this section, shall provide the county
superintendent of schools, in the form prescribed by him, with the
data necessary to make retirement reports and other reports required
of him by law. All warrants, vouchers, and supporting documents shall
be kept by school districts that draw their own warrants in those
designated categories.
The county superintendent shall provide for a periodic review of
the districts' financial transactions and internal control pursuant
to Section 1241.5.
County superintendents of schools may provide fiscal, budgetary,
and data-processing services through contractual agreements to school
districts that have been determined to be fiscally accountable under
the provisions of this section.
The person authorized by the governing board of the district to
issue warrants, pursuant to this section, shall execute an official
bond in an amount fixed by the governing board conditioned upon the
faithful performance of his duties under this section. A county
superintendent or county auditor shall not be liable under the terms
of their bonds or otherwise for any warrant issued pursuant to this
section. This section shall not be construed as impairing the
obligation of any contract in the bond of such officer in effect on
January 1, 1977.
A listing of the warrants issued under this section by each school
district shall be forwarded to the county auditor having
jurisdiction, upon his request, and to the county superintendent of
schools having jurisdiction over the district on the same day
warrants are issued. The listing, which may be on magnetic tape,
punched cards, or in other form, shall report, among other things,
the warrant number, date of the warrant, amount of the warrant, the
name of the payee, and the fund on which drawn. The form and content
of the warrant listing shall be as prescribed by the county auditor
or county superintendent and approved by the county auditor or county
superintendent having jurisdiction.
Each district which issues warrants pursuant to this section shall
furnish monthly to the county superintendent of schools and the
county auditor of the county of jurisdiction, upon his request, a
statement showing for the current fiscal year to date, for each
required expenditure classification, the amount budgeted, actual
expenditures, encumbrances and unencumbered balances.
In order to obtain the approval of the county superintendent of
schools and county auditor for fiscally accountable status, the
governing board of a school district shall file a written application
with the county superintendent of schools and county auditor having
jurisdiction on forms which the county superintendent shall
prescribe. Upon receipt of an application from the district, the
county superintendent shall cause an audit to be made of the district'
s management and accounting controls, in accordance with standards
prescribed by him, by an independent certified public accountant or
public accountant approved by the county superintendent, who shall
report his findings and recommendations to the county superintendent
and to the applicant district. The audit report may include
Department of Finance guidelines and other assessments of fiscal
management as required by the county superintendent or the audit may
be the report of the annual district audit pursuant to Section 41020
if that is acceptable to the county superintendent of schools. The
cost of the audit required in support of a district's application for
fiscal accountability shall be borne by the applicant district.
The county superintendent and county auditor shall review the
district's application and report of financial management and control
and may approve the application if they find the management and
accounting controls of the district to be adequate. If the county
superintendent and county auditor determine that such management and
accounting controls are inadequate, they shall disapprove the
application.
A district that applies for fiscal accountability status shall
file its written application with the county superintendent of
schools on or before September 1. The required audit of financial
management and accounting controls shall be filed on or before
January 1. When a district's application for fiscal accountability
status has been approved by the county superintendent of schools and
county auditor, the issuance of warrants by the district pursuant to
this section shall be effective at the beginning of a fiscal year,
provided that approval had been made prior to the preceding first day
in March. If disapproved, the county superintendent of schools shall
state the specific steps which must be taken by the applicant school
district to receive approval and these changes shall be certified as
completed by an independent certified public accountant or public
accountant before the county superintendent shall approve the
application. If at any time the county superintendent of schools or
the county auditor determines that the financial management or
accounting controls of the district have become inadequate, either
such officer may revoke approval for fiscal accountability status
effective immediately.
42651. (a) The governing board of a school district may authorize a
bank, savings and loan association, or credit union in which school
district deferred compensation funds are invested pursuant to Section
53609 of the Government Code, to disburse benefits to eligible
school district employees or retired employees, or their
beneficiaries, provided the following conditions are met:
(1) No payment shall be made to any person by the bank, savings
and loan association, or credit union unless authorized in writing by
the school district.
(2) Written authorization from a school district to a bank,
savings and loan association, or credit union to make a payment shall
include the name of each person to receive payment and the amount
each person is to receive.
(3) The written authorization shall be signed by a majority of the
members of the governing board of the district or by a person or
persons authorized by the governing board to sign the authorization,
so long as such person or persons is an officer or an employee of the
district.
(b) The bank, savings and loan association, or credit union
authorized to disburse funds pursuant to this section shall be
considered an agent of the school district for the purposes of this
section.
42652. (a) The approval of a school district to draw all warrants
on the county treasury pursuant to Section 42647 may be revoked or
suspended by the Superintendent of Public Instruction for any school
district that has a qualified or negative certification pursuant to
Section 42131.
(b) The approval of a school district to draw warrants on the
county treasury pursuant to Section 42650 may be revoked or suspended
by the county superintendent of schools for any school district that
has a qualified or negative certification pursuant to Section 42131.