Staff Policies and Procedures Manual

Harlingen C.I.S.D.

H.E.L.P. Program

FY 2013 – 2014

Updated August 2013 H.E.L.P. Operating and Fee Schedule

Hours of Operation:

The HELP Program is operated at elementary campuses that have demonstrated a need for this service. A survey letter is sent to parents of elementary students prior to the beginning of the school year. If a campus has 10 or more students requiring after-school care, then the campus will be authorized to host this program for that school year.

The program will operate during the regular school calendar, and does not include Teacher In-Service or Student Holidays. (See attached District School Calendar) The program will begin at 3 pm and end at 6 pm.

Fee Schedule:

A fee schedule is determined at the beginning of the school year based on the number of service days available each month. There is a set fee for each student for each monthly service period. It is calculated by the number of service days in that month multiplied by $4. The fee is due at the end of the month prior to the service period.

A late fee of $20.00 will be assessed if payment is not received by the 3rd day of the grace period. If not received by the 4th day, the Business Office will intervene, if needed.

LATE FEE NUMBER CHARGED DATES OF DAYS COST PAYMENT DUE! AFTER NO H.E.L.P.

August 26-30 5 $ 20.00 At Registration

September 2-30 21 $ 84.00 August 30 Sept 4

October 1-31 23 $ 92.00 September 30 Oct. 3

November 1-26 18 $ 72.00 October 31 Nov. 5 November 27-29

December 1-19 14 $ 56.00 November 26 Dec. 4 December 20-31

January 8-31 17 $ 68.00 January 8 Jan. 13 January 1-7, 20

February 3-28 20 $ 80.00 January 31 Feb. 5

March 3-31 16 $ 64.00 February 28 Mar. 5 March 10-14

April 1-30 21 $ 84.00 March 31 Apr. 3 April 18

May 1-29 21 $ 84.00 April 30 May 5 May 30

TOTAL 176 $704.00 Late Fees:

As mentioned above, a late fee of $20 will be assessed for payments received after the 3rd day grace period.

Please email the Accountant a listing of all students/parents that have not yet paid by the grace period and inform these parents they must come in to the Business Office to pay the monthly fee PLUS the $20 late fee for each child. An email will be sent to you when a parent comes into the Business Office to pay their late fees.

Collection letters will be sent upon request. If payment is not received by the end of the month, these students may be considered for withdrawal by your principal

Additional Fees:

A late pick-up fee will also be assessed for parents not picking up their children by 6 pm. A charge of $10 per child will be assessed, if picked up after 6:00 and then the charge goes up to $20 per child if picked up after 6:30.

If the parent has not picked up their child by 6:30, then the Principal will be notified to call the parent or an alternative solution will be made.

Receipts:

A receipt must be issued to the parent for all fees collected. These receipts will be the parent’s support for any reimbursement plans or tax credits they might require. A tax statement with the total amount of fees collected will be sent by the Business Office.

Money Handling:

Each campus should designate who will be handling money from the parents and when. Since not all Campus Secretaries work in the HELP program, the money handling function must be designated to a HELP monitor. This person, whether it is the Secretary or a HELP monitor, must be careful in how the money is handled and secured.

Fees should be paid by the parent and not the student. The parent should be notified as to whom to pay. If the money is paid to the Secretary, then they will be made responsible to issue the receipt and secure the money. A locked safe is recommended to all campuses to secure the money collected.

It is also important to identify the type of payment received on the receipt, such as cash, check or money order. Checks should be endorsed with a stamp as “Deposit Only – Account #XXXX” upon receipt If a HELP monitor is designated to collect the fees from the parents, then they will be made responsible to issue the receipt and secure the money. The monitor should pick up a receipt book and money bag from the Secretary each day before 3 pm. The money should be kept in a secured money bag until the end of the day. At the end of the day, the monitor will drop the money bag and receipt book at the office. If there is no one left in the office, then a locked drop box should be made available for the monitor to leave the money bag and receipt book. The receipts should be issued in the same sequential order as the receipt book.

The Secretary should then prepare the deposit the next morning and record the fees collected in their HELP cash receipt journal. The deposit slip should list all of the individual checks received, including money orders. The Secretary should also reconcile the receipts issued the previous day to the money received for verification. The total amount of cash, checks and money orders should equal the same totals on the deposit slip. Any discrepancies should be researched. If unresolved, please let the Principal know about the situation.

An excel spreadsheet, or Roster and Fee Summary, should be used to record each student’s paid fee. This will help identify any extra fees paid, such as late fees, and any prorated fees collected for new students entering the program. The spreadsheet should include a total amount for each month and should equal the amount of fees submitted to the Business Office –Accounting. The fees are due to the Business Office by the 10th of each month, along with a copy of the Fee Summary report. A copy of the Fee Summary report will be submitted to the Finance Coordinator for reconciliation purposes. This report MUST be emailed to the Coordinator to verify formulas.

The Online Deposit Report will have to be printed from your Horizon Software – MealPayPlus on a monthly basis, or as needed, in order to keep track of fees paid online. These should be entered onto your Roster and Fee Summary and highlighted in blue. This will help the Accountant to reconcile your HELP revenue account at the end of each month. Fees collected online will be directly deposited into the District’s operating account and therefore you will not have to submit that amount to our Business office. But it is required that you report how much was paid and from which students.

New: The Roster Fee Summary now includes a box for you to include your total amount of online payments which will then be backed out from your Total Fees in order to determine how much your campus collected on-site through cash and checks. That is the amount that should be remitted to the Business Office.

Registration:

Registration for the H.E.L.P. program will occur prior to the August 26th school date. A Parent Request Form, or contract, will be signed by the parent

The Parent Request Form will also authorize who will be able to pick up their child including telephone numbers for each authorized person. The child will only be released to those listed on the contract. If the parent wishes to have someone else pick up their child, then it is the parent’s responsibility to notify the campus of any authorization changes.

Copies of all Parent Request Forms should be submitted to the Accountant at the Business Office for their files.

Withdrawal:

Once a parent has signed the Parent Request Form a contract has been entered with the District for the services requested at the agreed monthly fee.

Any paid fees are non-refundable.

Attendance Procedures:

Roll call will be made at the beginning of the program to record attendance. A copy of the roster will be submitted to the Cafeteria Manager to keep track of the number of snacks provided for the meal reimbursement report.

Dismissal Procedures:

A sign-out sheet will be placed in a designated area for parents to sign-out their child when they pick them up. This should include the name of the child, the name of the person picking up the child and at what time.

Parents may pick up their child prior to 6 pm and are responsible for making arrangements to pick up their child by 6pm, if they are unable to do so. Children will ONLY be released to authorized people identified on the Parent Request Form. A photo identification card may be requested from those picking up the child. Children will not be allowed to walk home from the program.

This sign-out sheet will help alert administrators of any problems with late pick-ups, as well as keep track of who picks up the children.

Please note that any child custody issues, or restraining orders, should be brought to the Principal’s attention by the parent who will inform the HELP monitors of the situation. Copies of such legal documentation should be submitted to the Principal.

Illnesses/Accidents/Behavioral Problems:

In the case that a child becomes ill during the program, the parent will be notified immediately to pick up their child. The Parent Request Form should have different telephone numbers available for each parent, or authorized person to pick up the child. Refer to this form to obtain such information to alert the parent that their child is ill. If a child is involved in an accident or has demonstrated inappropriate behavior, then the Accident Report or Incident Report (See attached Form) should be prepared and shown to the parent as they pick up their child. Both the HELP monitor and parent are required to sign and date the form stating that the situation has been explained to the parent.

Snacks:

A snack and drink will be provided to each student during the program. The snacks are provided by the District’s Child Nutrition Program. It is important to submit a copy of the daily roster to the Cafeteria Manager so that the meal reimbursement report is prepared.

If the child does not want the snack, it is mandated by the Lunch Program that these snacks be disposed of and not re-issued to another student. Only one snack per child is deemed reimbursable. Any snacks left at the end of the day should be for those students that were absent that day.

Program Budget:

Each campus has a program budget that is maintained by the Campus Secretary. Supplies should be budgeted each school year with these budget monies. Supplies could consist of art supplies, athletic supplies and any other supplies needed for the program’s enrichment.

Supply Inventory:

Any supplies over $500 purchased for the program should be maintained on the Inventory Report (See attached Report). This will keep accountability for all supplies purchased with HELP money.

Any items that are $5,000 or more should be tagged by the Fixed Assets Department.

Questions/Comments:

Please address any further questions on the program to your Principal. If you have any questions on cash receipt procedures or reporting, please contact the Finance Coordinator in the Accounting department at ext. 9737. Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District H.E.L.P. Incident/Accident Report

Date: ______

Student Name: ______ID# ______

Time of Incident/Accident: ______

Location of Incident/Accident: ______

Explanation of Incident/Accident: (Include procedures taken and parent notification.) ______

______

This form should be completed by the HELP Monitor in charge of the student and before the parent picks up the student. A copy of the form should be submitted to the Campus Principal for review and subsequent follow-up, if required.

______Parent/Guardian Signature Date

______HELP Monitor Signature Date

______Campus Principal Signature Date

Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District H.E.L.P. Supplies Inventory for the FY 2013-2014

Campus: ______G/L #6399093 Description Serial Location Vendor/ Cost of Date Item No # Received Maker Model of Item Number of Item PO # Item