The Board of Directors hereby directs the board treasurer in conjunction with the board secretary to manage the investment of funds for the district. School district funds in excess of current needs are invested in compliance with this policy. The goals of the district's investment portfolio in order of priority are:
- To provide safety of the principal
- To maintain the necessary liquidity to match expected liabilities
- To obtain a reasonable rate of return
In making investments, the school district will exercise the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use to meet the goals of the investment program.
School district funds are monies of the district, including operating funds. Operating funds of the school district are funds which are reasonably expected to be used during a current budget year or within 15 months of receipt. When investing operating funds, the investments must mature within 397 days or less. If, during the current budget year an amount of public funds will exceed operating funds by at least 33%, the amount of public funds that exceed operating funds by greater than 33% may be invested in certificates of deposit at federally insured depository institutions which mature within 63 months or less, in accordance with state and federal laws. When investing funds other than operating funds, the investments must mature according to the need for the funds.
The board authorizes the board treasurer in conjunction with the board secretary to invest funds in excess of current needs in the following investments:
- Interest bearing savings, money market, and checking accounts at the school district's authorized depositories;
- Iowa Schools Joint Investment Trust Program (ISJIT);
- Obligations of the US government and its agencies and instrumentalities;
- Certificates of deposit and other evidences of deposit at federally insured Iowa depository institutions; and
- All other investments authorized or hereafter authorized by the Code of Iowa.
It is the responsibility of the board treasurer in conjunction with the board secretary to oversee the investment portfolio in compliance with this policy and the law and to report portfolio compliance to the superintendent semi-annually.
Where possible, it is the policy of the district to diversify its investment portfolio. Assets are diversified to eliminate the risk of loss resulting from over concentration of assets in a specific maturity, a specific issuer, or a specific class of securities.
It is the responsibility of the board treasurer in conjunction with the board secretary to bring a contract with an outside person to invest school district funds, to advise on investments, to direct investments, to act in a fiduciary capacity or to perform other services to the board for review and approval. The board treasurer in conjunction with the board secretary will also provide the board and superintendent with information about and verification of the outside person's fiduciary bond. Contracts with outside persons will include a clause requiring the outside person to notify the school district within 30 days of any material weakness in internal structure or regulatory orders or sanctions against the outside person regarding the services being provided to the school district and to provide the documents necessary for the performance of the investment portion of the school district audit. Contracts with outside persons will not be based on the performance of the investment portfolio.
The board treasurer in conjunction with the board secretary is responsible for reporting to and reviewing with the superintendent and the board, semi-annually, the investment portfolio's performance, transaction activity, and current investments including the percent of the investment portfolio by type of investment and by issuer and maturities. The report will also include trend lines by month over the last year and year-to-year trend lines regarding the performance of the investment portfolio. It will also be the responsibility of the board treasurer in conjunction with the board secretary to obtain the information necessary to ensure that the investments and the outside persons doing business with the school district meet the requirements outlined in this policy.
It is the responsibility of the board treasurer to deliver a copy of this policy to the school district's depositories, auditor, and outside persons doing business with the school district.
It is also the responsibility of the board treasurer to develop a system of investment practices and internal controls over the investment practices. The investment practices are designed to prevent losses, to document the officer's and employee's responsibility for elements of the investment process, and to address the capability of the management.
The board treasurer will review the investment practices and internal controls process with the superintendent annually.
Adopted: 6/70
Reviewed: 7/10; 10/12; 12/18
Revised: 12/13; 5/15; 11/18; 1/22
Legal Reference (Code of Iowa): §§ 11.2, .6; 12/62; 12B.10, .10A; 12C; 22.1, .14; 28E.2; 257; 279.29; 283A; 285; 502.701; 633.123
IASB Reference: 704.03 Option III