Purchasing

• Frontline and Red Rover Training and Support (Primary Support Page)

• Frontline End User Guide for Site Clerks

• Entering a Frontline Requisition - Quick Guide

• Confirming Requisitions (for Invoices)

• Editing a Requisition

• Apple and Arey Jones Requisitions

• Changing a Requisition's Account

• Copying a Requisition

• Warehouse Orders

   

• Procurement Department (Drupal)

• SFUSD Procurement Manual - Non-Construction (contracts)

The phrase “Gift of Public Funds” has been used frequently in recent months as the district is aligning its practices more closely to accepted fiscal practices and state law. School district funding is acquired from a combination of federal, state and local sources. As the school district is a public entity, any funds administered by the district are considered “public funds” and are subject to the restrictions of the California Constitution, Article 16, Section 6 which prohibits a gift of public funds to any individual, corporation or even other government agency. Additionally, California Education Code further defines the parameters for the use of public funds as they relate to educational purposes.

Expenditures of school public funds must be for a direct and primary public purpose and within the scope of the school district’s jurisdiction and purpose. In general, the responsibility of the district is to show that the expense benefits the education of students within its schools.

There are many expenses that, while well intentioned, are not appropriate uses of public funds.

•  Flowers and Candy - unless they are part of an awards ceremony or public event
•  Gift Certificates or Gift Cards
•  Donations for charitable purposes other than support of student essential needs for educational purposes (supplies, uniforms, are appropriate)
•  Expenses to support ‘goodwill” or “public relations - i.e. a community appreciation dinner
•  Staff or community gifts (including food) in recognition of holidays, birthdays, weddings, funerals, retirement, etc.
•  Student awards that are not in recognition of achievement -( gifts for attending or participating in an activity)
•  Student awards of significant value – Currently, this is limited to $15.00
• Food expenses for staff not associated with Professional Development
  • See also Purchase of Food 2024-25

Reimbursements or invoices for expenses that appear to be a Gift of Public Funds will be reviewed by Accounting and, if found to be inappropriate, will be returned to the requestor.

Gift of Public Funds – What is it and how do I avoid it?

See Purchase of Food for SFUSD's policies.

*Food Object Codes: If food is ordered and delivered, the object code is 5890. If food is ordered, but is picked up, it is 4313.

GIFT CARDS

San Francisco Unified School District’s (SFUSD) practice is to disallow the purchase of gift cards as it is considered a gift of public funds which is disallowed under California Constitution, Article 16, Section 6. As SFUSD is routinely audited, these purchases that are paid for with public funds are more likely to result in potential audit findings. 

Gift cards may be charged to a local grant if explicitly allowed by the grantor. Please provide the section from the grant agreement or an email from the grantor stating the conditions for which the purchase of gift cards is an allowable expense.

School sites/central offices are responsible to maintain all records of distributed benefits. Any undistributed gift cards must be returned to Accounting at the end of the year. The District is audited annually and the purchase of gift cards will be audited to determine if school sites and central offices are adhering to the Gift Card purchasing requirements. 

GIFT CARDS GUIDELINES

• May not be purchased from vendors that sell tobacco, alcohol, or firearms.- Some vendors are able to issue gift cards that automatically exclude these items.
• Are handled as cash and must be safeguarded.
• May not be given to SFUSD employees such as a gesture of appreciation to the staff as the IRS views gift cards as income which are subject to tax.
• May only be used to purchase items that the cards were intended for.

GIFT CARD HOLDERS

• Must meet program eligibility requirements if applicable.
• Must submit the receipts back to the program. The program then reviews the receipts to ensure the purchases comply with program requirements and for purchases of any unauthorized items.

PROCEDURES:

• The completed Gift Card Purchase request form must be attached to a Gift Card requisition.
• The Gift Card Tally sheet must be completed when the gift cards are distributed and made available for up to three years for audit purposes.
  • Purpose of the gift card
  • Date of purchase
  • Dollar amount
  • Gift Card Sequence Number
  • Name of gift card holder
  • Issue date
  • Signature of holder
  • Name of Issuer

See WAREHOUSE SERVICE REQUEST FORM.

Approved Printers [10-02-24]

When buying from Amazon the option to include an Alexa device may be offered but please note that SFUSD Technology does not support digital assistant devices of any kind at this time. 

HP LaserJet Pro 3101fdw - Monochrome All-in-One Laser Printer, Scanner, Copier 

HP LaserJet Pro 3001dw - Monochrome printer

HP Color LaserJet M283fdw - Color Laser printer w/ Ethernet and duplex

HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdn - Monochrome printer scanner fax - USB, Ethernet

HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dn Printer - Color laser printer USB, Ethernet connection

HP LaserJet Pro 4001n - Monochrome printer with Ethernet and USB

HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301fdw - Color Laser Printer, Office Printer, Scanner, Copier