Board considers banning gift-card donations; approves policy on second reading

Board staff presented a first reading to revise board policy 704.04 to prohibit acceptance of gift cards as donations. Tyler explained that gift cards must be treated like cash for accounting and tracking purposes and said the district does not want the additional tracking burden or potential conflicts if a vendor attempted to influence contracts through gift-card donations. “We just don't accept gift cards any further,” Tyler said. The presentation clarified that cash, check and in-kind donations that meet state requirements (for example, books for libraries) remain acceptable.

Separately, the board approved policy 902.01 on second reading by unanimous roll-call vote. Earlier in the meeting the board approved the consent agenda and the February 2026 financials; all procedural votes on the consent agenda, financials and policy second reading were recorded as unanimous (seven yes votes) in the roll-call record.

Why it matters: the proposed policy change narrows the kinds of gifts the district can accept and is intended to reduce accounting complexity and potential appearance-of-influence issues. That change was presented as a first reading; final adoption will follow the board’s usual policy-review process.

The board moved on to other items and then recessed into exempt session for negotiations later in the meeting.