Committee adopts DocuSign process to speed vendor payments and avoid late fees

The school committee approved a revised warrant approval process that uses DocuSign to collect digital signatures for warrants between monthly meetings, a change prompted by vendor payment timing issues.

Denise Carrier, the district’s Director of Finance and Operations, explained the proposal: committee members would receive warrant backup via email, then get a DocuSign request to apply a digital signature; the district will require a majority (five of eight) digital signatures before mailing checks. Carrier said the district already uses DocuSign for HR onboarding and that the system meets auditing requirements.

"We're not asking anyone to forfeit review; you'll still receive the backup materials and have a day to review them," Carrier said. The motion to adopt the DocuSign warrant approval process was moved by Ted and seconded by Matt; the committee approved it unanimously.

Committee members asked about notification practices and whether SMS alerts could be used to remind members to sign; staff said they would add an alert message to the workflow and follow up with text notifications as needed. The change aims to reduce late fees and ensure timely vendor payments while retaining the school committee’s oversight role during regular meetings.