MS 2023-07-R-Revere-July-20-2023-Purchase-of-Athletic-Passes-Using-Activity-Funds July 20, 2023

Can a Mississippi school district use activity funds to buy MHSAA athletic passes for chaperone employees?

Short answer: Yes, if the school district determines the passes are necessary expenses or travel costs for chaperones to attend a school-related program beneficial to official or extracurricular programs. Activity funds under Section 37-7-301(s) can cover those expenses, including bulk MHSAA athletic passes that save money over per-event tickets.

Disclaimer: This is an official Mississippi Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Mississippi attorney for advice on your specific situation.

Subject

Purchase of Athletic Passes Using Activity Funds

Recipient

Ryan Revere, Esq., Attorney, South Panola School District

Plain-English summary

The South Panola School District wanted to buy statewide athletic passes from the Mississippi High School Activities Association so the small group of employees who serve as chaperones at away events could attend without buying tickets each time. Bulk MHSAA passes are cheaper than per-event tickets, and the district sought to use activity funds.

The AG said yes, conditional on a board finding. Section 37-7-301(s) defines activity funds and allows their use for "any necessary expenses or travel costs, including advances, incurred by students and their chaperons in attending any in-state or out-of-state school-related programs, conventions or seminars and/or any commodities, equipment, travel expenses, purchased services or school supplies which the local school governing board, in its discretion, shall deem beneficial to the official or extracurricular programs of the district." If the board finds the athletic passes are necessary chaperone travel costs that benefit the district's programs, activity funds can be used.

The AG referred the district to the State Auditor's Technical Assistance Division and the Mississippi Department of Education for accounting and best-practice guidance.

What this means for you

School district attorneys and business managers

Get the board to vote a finding before the purchase. The minutes should reflect that (a) the district uses chaperones for off-site athletic events, (b) bulk passes save money compared to per-event tickets, and (c) the passes are necessary travel-related costs for the district's official and extracurricular programs. Coordinate with the State Auditor's Technical Assistance Division if you want a pre-purchase informal review.

Athletic directors

If you are arranging the chaperone roster, document that the same staff cover most events. Limited use justifies bulk passes; if you are buying lots of passes for staff who rarely chaperone, the necessity case is weaker.

School board members

The opinion gives you a clean path. Make the finding, document it, and make the purchase from activity funds. State that the board finds the passes are necessary expenses or travel costs for chaperones, and that the chaperone role benefits the district's official or extracurricular programs.

Chaperones (district employees)

If the district provides you with an MHSAA pass, it is a tool for the chaperone duty, not a personal benefit. Treat it as district property; do not use it for personal events outside of chaperoning.

Citizens and journalists

This expenditure is within the legitimate scope of activity funds when properly documented. If your local district is buying passes without a board finding, that is the place to push for compliance.

Background and statutory framework

Section 37-7-301 outlines the powers and duties of local school boards. Subsection (s) defines "activity funds" as "all funds received by school officials in all school districts paid or collected to participate in any school activity, such activity being part of the school program and partially financed with public funds or supplemented by public funds." The same subsection authorizes activity-fund use for necessary expenses or travel costs of students and chaperones, and "commodities, equipment, travel expenses, purchased services or school supplies which the local school governing board, in its discretion, shall deem beneficial to the official or extracurricular programs of the district." It also authorizes activity funds to pay travel expenses of school district personnel.

The board's "necessary expenses or travel costs" finding is the legal hinge. The Mississippi Department of Education prescribes the uniform accounting system for activity-fund transactions under Section 37-7-301(s), and the State Auditor's Technical Assistance Division provides best-practice guidance.

Citations

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-301 (powers and duties of local school boards)
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-301(s) (definition and permitted uses of activity funds)

Source

Original opinion text

July 20, 2023

Ryan Revere, Esq.
Attorney, South Panola School District
Post Office Drawer 1586
Batesville, Mississippi 38606
Re:

Purchase of Athletic Passes Using Activity Funds

Dear Mr. Revere:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.
Background

In your request, you provide:
The District's students routinely participate in District athletic events which require
travel off campus with chaperones to accompany them. The chaperones to these
athletic events are district employees and it is necessary for these chaperones to
attend the athletic events to help ensure that the District's students remain safe and
supervised. The District would like to purchase statewide athletic passes through
the Mississippi High School Activities Association in order for these employee
chaperones to attend the athletic events. Usually there are no more than a few
employees who serve as the chaperones to all events and would need passes. The
District would be able to achieve a significant cost saving by purchasing the athletic
passes as opposed to purchasing tickets for each particular event.
Question Presented
May the South Panola School District purchase statewide athletic passes for its employees who
attend and serve as chaperones at athletic events?
Brief Response
If the South Panola School District determines that the athletic passes are necessary expenses or
travel costs for chaperones to attend a school-related program that is beneficial to official or
extracurricular programs of the district, the school district may expend its activity funds on these
athletic passes as described in your request.
Applicable Law and Discussion
Section 37-7-301 outlines the powers and duties of local school boards and defines "activity funds"
as "all funds received by school officials in all school districts paid or collected to participate in
any school activity, such activity being part of the school program and partially financed with
public funds or supplemented by public funds." Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-301(s). This section
further provides:
Activity funds may only be expended for any necessary expenses or travel costs,
including advances, incurred by students and their chaperons in attending any in-state or out-of-state school-related programs, conventions or seminars and/or any
commodities, equipment, travel expenses, purchased services or school supplies
which the local school governing board, in its discretion, shall deem beneficial to
the official or extracurricular programs of the district, including items which may
subsequently become the personal property of individuals, including yearbooks,
athletic apparel, book covers and trophies. Activity funds may be used to pay travel
expenses of school district personnel.
Id. If, as you assert in your opinion request, the school district makes the determination that the
athletic passes are necessary expenses or travel costs for chaperones to attend a school-related
program that is beneficial to official or extracurricular programs of the district, the school district
may expend its activity funds on these athletic passes as described in your request.
Given that your question involves the expenditure of public funds, we suggest you contact the
Technical Assistance Division at the Office of the State Auditor. You also may wish to contact the
Mississippi Department of Education, which has the statutory duty to "prescribe a uniform system
of accounting and financial reporting for all school activity fund transactions." Miss. Code Ann. §
37-7-301(s).
If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By:

/s/ Beebe Garrard
Beebe Garrard
Special Assistant Attorney General