Student and Campus Activity Funds​ 

Student and Campus Activity Funds​ 

September 10, 2024 | Financial Management

Activity Funds 

Activity Funds are used to account for campus and student funds at your charter. These funds are held in trust by the charter district and used to promote the general welfare of the school, as well as the educational development and morale of all students.​  

Some examples of Activity Funds include school fundraisers, vending machine sales, and concession sales at charter events.​ 

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Campus vs. Student Activity Funds 

To correctly classify Activity Funds in your charter school accounting, you should first decide if these funds fall into the category of Campus Activity Funds or Student Activity Funds: 

Campus Activity Funds​ 

  • Belong to the campus/district.​ 
  • Your charter administration will decide how the funds are spent.​ 
  • Money is raised locally at the school or donated to the school.​ 
  • Funds benefit the student body as a whole.​ 
  • These funds are accounted for in the 400 series of funds. (Typically, Fund 461).​ 
  • Examples can include student picture commission, school wide fundraisers, and vending machine sales.​ 

Student Activity Funds​ 

  • Funds belong to the students and are considered Trust funds. Students decide how the funds will be spent.​ 
  • Benefit a club or organization (class, cheer, choir, etc.)​ 
  • Funds are used for the benefit of the students and money raised shall be used for the benefit of the group as a whole and not an individual student.​ 
  • Accounted for in the 800 series of funds. (Typically, Fund 865.)​ 

Fundraising 

Fundraisers provide resources for campuses and student groups that do not exist within budgeted allocations. However, when too many fundraisers are conducted at the same time, the results might be limited. Your district should have parameters in place for fundraisers and a school-wide fundraising calendar. Fundraisers must be held for a specific purpose and the proceeds must be used for that purpose.​  

Financial Procedures 

Your charter should also have financial procedures in place prior to each fundraiser, including those for: 

  • Online Payments 
  • Sales Tax 
  • Taxable Sales  
    • This category includes non-food items like t-shirts, candles, etc. For more information reference the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts tax publication on School Fundraisers and Texas Sales Tax https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/publications/​ 
  • Non-Taxable Sales  
    • This category includes items such as ad sales, admission fees, membership fees, services, school newspapers etc. 
  • Tax-Free Days 
    • Each Campus and Student Activity Fund can have two, one-day tax-free sales each calendar year. During these tax-free sales, the group/organization may sell any taxable item tax-free when the price of the item is $5,000 or less. 
    • One day sale is 24 consecutive hours. Any purchases made outside of those 24 hours would be considered taxable. ​ 
  • Collection of Sales Tax 
    • The school/student group should collect sales tax of 8.25% on all taxable sales. There are two options:​ 
    • Adding the tax to the selling price of the item. If the selling price of the item is $4.00, the school will collect $4.33 ($4.00 plus $0.33 tax) from the buyer. The school keeps $4.00 and remits $0.33 for sales tax. ​ 
    • Absorbing the tax in the selling price of the item. If an item sells for $4.00 including tax, the school keeps $3.67 and remits $0.33 for sales tax.​ 

NOTE: The charter’s business office handles the remittance of sales tax collections to the State Comptroller’s office.​ 

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