The Haverford Township School District Policy Committee on May 15 discussed proposed changes to Policy 702, which governs gifts, grants and donations to the district, and directed staff to clarify who may accept gifts, what reporting is required and whether the board should keep blanket discretion to refuse donations.

Committee members recommended simplifying the policy language to give the elected board an explicit right to refuse any gift and to create a practical process for accepting smaller donations while reserving major acceptance or refusal decisions for the full board.

Why it matters: the policy governs acceptance of money, materials and other contributions to district programs and can affect curriculum materials, building improvements and discretionary spending.

Key points and staff directions
- Right to refuse: Multiple committee members urged a simple formulation giving the board the right to refuse any gift, rather than narrowly defining “contribute to the achievement of the goals.” One member suggested the concise wording: “The board reserves the right to refuse any gift.”
- Honoring donor intent vs. board authority: The draft balanced honoring donor intent with reserving the right to use a donation in the district’s best interest. Members asked staff to retain reasonable‑effort language (honor donor intent when feasible) but acknowledged the board must retain final authority.
- Reporting, thresholds and ratification: Members discussed establishing a dollar threshold under which the superintendent could accept donations on behalf of the district (for example, modest donations) with later board ratification; they requested staff propose a practical threshold and a subsequent ratification process. Members also asked staff to remove older terms (for example, “gratuity”) that do not fit modern practice.
- Public reporting and board votes: The committee agreed the superintendent should report gifts to the board but asked staff to remove phrasing that suggested the superintendent accepts gifts “on behalf of the board” without board action. Instead, staff should present a clear process for board acceptance or ratification on the agenda.

Direction to staff and next steps
- Staff were asked to: (1) simplify the policy to explicitly preserve the board’s right to refuse gifts; (2) propose a reasonable threshold for superintendent acceptance with subsequent board ratification; (3) remove outdated terms such as “gratuity”; and (4) ensure routine donations are recorded on board agendas in a consistent format.

Ending: Committee moved to refine the policy language and return a version that provides clear operational steps for accepting, reporting and (if needed) refusing donations.