District, Ham On Regal Will Sign Contract

Spokane School District has formalized its relationship with one of the city’s largest school fund-raisers after the state auditor raised concerns about cash-handling practices.

The school board voted last month to enter into a contract with Ham on Regal, an annual Ferris High School production that has raised more than half a million dollars in its 35 years.

The nonprofit play is put on by Ferris parents. The money raised buys everything from sports equipment to band uniforms.

But the 1998 district audit said that district employees were handling ticket sales and cash from Ham on Regal.

That was something parents should have been doing, said Jeff Snyder, the state auditor’s Spokane office manager.

The auditor’s management letter to the district said “the lack of contracts leaves the district open to liability issues and multiple interpretations of the intent of the arrangements.”

“They needed to understand who was liable if money turned up missing,” said Snyder.

The new agreement allows district employees to use work time occasionally to sell tickets as long as the parent-teacher group provides money for change.

It also gives permission for the school to store money for parents until it can be deposited, but school employees cannot count it out or prepare it for deposit.

The agreement also calls for parent-teacher group members to handle ticket receipts on a daily basis.

“We need to encourage Ham on Regal,” said district Budget Director Neil Sullivan. “It really supports Ferris activities.”

Associate Superintendent Mark Anderson told board members the district will consider formal agreements with all parent groups that raise money for schools as a way to clarify fund-raising and cash-handling policies.

“Our parent groups are very important for our children,” said Sullivan. “We just need to accommodate their needs and occasionally help them out.”