(a) Any local or regional board of education may establish and maintain in its custody a school activity fund through which it may handle (1) the finances of that part of the cost of the school lunch program not provided by town appropriations, (2) the finances of that part of the cost of driver education courses furnished by such board of education and not provided by town appropriations and (3) such funds of schools and school organizations as such board from time to time determines to be desirable, which funds may include amounts received as gifts or donations. Whenever a board of education establishes a school activity fund, it shall designate one of its members or some other person to serve as treasurer of such fund and shall fix his or her salary, which shall be paid from the regular town appropriation for school purposes. Such treasurer shall be bonded and shall keep separate accounts for each school lunch program, for each driver education program and for each school fund and each school organization fund included in the school activity fund and shall make expenditures from such fund in the manner and upon such authorizations as the board of education by regulation prescribes, provided the control of school funds and the funds of all school organizations shall remain in the name of the respective schools and organizations. The accounts of the school activity fund shall be considered town accounts and shall be audited by the town auditor in the same manner as all other town accounts.

(b) The accounts of any public school lunch program, whether maintained directly by the board of education or through an agent, shall be kept in accordance with regulations prescribed by the board of education and may include a petty cash fund on the imprest basis and shall be subject to the regular audit of town accounts as provided in section 7-392.

(c) Any local or regional board of education may receive and accept any donation or gift of personal property to be used for the educational benefit of students.

(1953, 1955, S. 953d; 1959, P.A. 672, S. 4; 1963, P.A. 493; P.A. 78-218, S. 169; P.A. 85-92, S. 1, 2; P.A. 91-401, S. 14, 20.)

History: 1959 act added Subsec. (1)(b); 1963 act added to Subdiv. (c) provision regarding gifts and donations for scholarships and student loans: P.A. 78-218 substituted “local or regional” board of education for “town” board and included feminine personal pronoun; P.A. 85-92 replaced numeric Subsec. indicators with alphabetic indicators and alphabetic Subdiv. indicators with numeric indicators to conform with general practice throughout statutes, deleted reference in Subsec. (a) to school boards' power to manage gifts or donations “for purposes of scholarships or student loans” and added Subsec. (c) empowering boards of education to accept donations or gifts for students' “educational benefit”; P.A. 91-401 deleted reference to Sec. 7-392 in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 1993.