{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-5-135","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-5-135","heading":"System of accounting","body":"A. The board of education of each school district shall use the\n\nfollowing system of initiating, recording and paying for all\n\npurchases, salaries, wages or contractual obligations due from any\n\nof the funds under the control of such board of education. However,\n\na school district board of education may use the procedures outlined\n\nin Section 304.1 of Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes for the\n\npayment of salaries and wages only if the board so votes. The\n\nprovisions contained herein shall not apply to the sinking fund and\n\nschool activity fund.\n\nB. The encumbrance clerk and treasurer of the school district\n\nshall each enter the authorized amounts in the various appropriation\n\naccounts of the funds to which this system is applied. The\n\nauthorized amounts of appropriations shall be the general fund and\n\nbuilding fund appropriations approved by the county excise board and\n\nsuch additional amounts as may be applied in the manner provided by\n\nlaw, the amount received for deposit in a special cash fund where\n\nsuch special cash fund is authorized by law or required by the\n\nperson or agency providing such funds, or the amount of the net\n\nproceeds realized from the sale of bonds of the school district and\n\nany other income due such fund.\n\nC. It shall be the duty and responsibility of the board of\n\neducation of the school district to prescribe and administer\n\nadequate business procedures and controls governing the purchase or\n\nconfirmation of purchase and delivery of goods or services. The\n\nprocedures shall include delivery of an acceptable invoice by\n\ndocument, facsimile, electronic or other standard form that includes\n\nthe information required by the district. Such procedures shall\n\ninclude the designation of authorized persons to purchase goods or\n\nservices for the district and the method of determining the school\n\nemployee receiving delivery of each purchase.\n\nD. Prior to the issuance of a purchase order, the encumbrance\n\nclerk must first determine that the encumbrance will not exceed the\n\nbalance of the appropriation to be charged. The encumbrance clerk\n\nshall charge the appropriate appropriation accounts and credit the\n\naffected encumbrances outstanding accounts with the encumbrances.\n\nEncumbrances must be submitted to the board of education in the\n\norder of their issuance on a monthly basis, subject to a monthly\n\nbusiness cycle cut-off date determined by the board of education.\n\nApproved encumbrances shall be listed in the minutes by the minute\n\nclerk.\n\nE. Before any purchase is completed, a purchase order or\n\nencumbrance must be issued. No bill shall be paid unless it is\n\nsupported by an itemized invoice clearly describing the items\n\npurchased, the quantity of each item, its unit price, its total cost\n\nand proof of receipt of such goods or services. The bill and/or\n\ninvoice shall be filed in the encumbrance clerk's official records.\n\nIf a district has the ability to electronically utilize evaluated\n\nreceipt settlement (ERS), the district may remit to vendors on that\n\nbasis if the requirements of this subsection are fulfilled. In the\n\nevent a district is establishing electronic data interchange,\n\nelectronic entries will suffice in lieu of paper documents. In\n\norder for a district to be authorized to utilize an evaluated\n\nreceipt settlement system:\n\n1. The ERS must result in payment by the district from vendor\n\nreceipts that have been matched to the purchase order date;\n\n2. The ERS may only be used when there is an agreement between\n\nthe district and the vendor for use of an ERS; and\n\n3. The ERS must be included in the district's journal\n\nledger/accounts payable/purchase order software.\n\nF. The encumbrance clerk shall debit the encumbrances\n\noutstanding account and credit the accounts payable account for the\n\namount of the approved bill. The board of education shall determine\nay only be used when there is an agreement between\n\nthe district and the vendor for use of an ERS; and\n\n3. The ERS must be included in the district's journal\n\nledger/accounts payable/purchase order software.\n\nF. The encumbrance clerk shall debit the encumbrances\n\noutstanding account and credit the accounts payable account for the\n\namount of the approved bill. The board of education shall determine\n\nthe extent such costs may fluctuate without additional board action.\n\nMinor adjustments not requiring additional board approval shall be\n\nreferenced to the original encumbrance.\n\nG. An approved bill may be paid by issuing a warrant or check\n\nagainst the designated fund only after ascertaining that proper\n\naccounting of the purchase has been made and that the files contain\n\nthe required information to justify the expenditure of public funds,\n\nexcept as otherwise provided in subsection I of this section. The\n\nwarrants or checks so issued shall be recorded in an orderly\n\nnumerical system established by the district. The encumbrance clerk\n\nshall charge the warrant or checks against the accounts payable\n\naccount and credit it to the warrants or checks issued account.\n\nProvided, if payment is to be made immediately and the board of\n\neducation deems it advisable, the postings to the accounts payable\n\naccount may be omitted and the payment of the approved bill may be\n\ncredited directly to the warrants or checks issued account. The\n\nwarrant or check shall show on its face the name of the school\n\ndistrict, the date of issue, the payee, the amount, the expenditure\n\nclassification code, and such other information as may be necessary\n\nor desirable. The president and clerk of the board of education\n\nshall each sign the warrant or check, or approved facsimile thereby\n\ndenoting to the public that the warrant or check is for the purpose\n\nand within the amount of the appropriation charged.\n\nH. The treasurer shall register the warrant or check in the\n\nwarrant or check register, charging the appropriation account and\n\ncrediting the warrants or checks outstanding account of the\n\ndesignated fund. Provided, no warrant or check shall be registered\n\nin excess of the appropriation account's balance. All warrants or\n\nchecks shall be registered in the order of their issuance. Voided\n\nwarrants or checks shall be registered and filed with the treasurer.\n\nThe treasurer shall sign each warrant or check through individual\n\nsignature or approved facsimile showing its registration date and\n\nshall state whether it is payable or nonpayable. When a warrant or\n\ncheck is paid, the treasurer shall maintain evidence the warrant or\n\ncheck has been processed and paid. Nothing in this subsection shall\n\nprohibit any governing board from using automated recordkeeping\n\nprocedures, provided the information required in this subsection can\n\nbe accessed.\n\nI. Any board of education of a school district of this state\n\nmay make a payment which would otherwise be made by warrant or\n\ncheck, by disbursement through an Automated Clearing House, bank\n\naccount debit system, wire transfer through the Federal Reserve\n\nSystem, or any other automated payment system operated by a\n\nfinancial institution insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance\n\nCorporation. The internal controls over such payment system shall\n\nbe reviewed and approved by the independent auditor of the district\n\nduring the annual audit. The provisions of Sections 601 through 606\n\nof Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall apply to instruments or\n\npayment authorized by this subsection.\n\nJ. School districts complying with the provisions of this act\n\nshall use only those forms and accounting systems approved by the\n\nState Board of Education. Such forms and systems shall be\n\nconsidered in substantial compliance with this act if they are\n\nsufficient to convey the meaning and sequence of transactions\n\ncontained herein. Provided, nothing contained herein shall be\nd by this subsection.\n\nJ. School districts complying with the provisions of this act\n\nshall use only those forms and accounting systems approved by the\n\nState Board of Education. Such forms and systems shall be\n\nconsidered in substantial compliance with this act if they are\n\nsufficient to convey the meaning and sequence of transactions\n\ncontained herein. Provided, nothing contained herein shall be\n\nconstrued to limit or prevent the use of additional or subsidiary\n\naccounts, forms, or files which may be deemed necessary or advisable\n\nby the board of education of the district or the State Board of\n\nEducation.\n\nK. Any school district desiring to utilize the services of a\n\ndata processing center to furnish any or all of the records herein\n\nrequired may do so if the center and its system complies with this\n\nact and the rules and regulations of the State Board of Education.\n\nSuch center shall furnish an honesty bond in an amount to be set by\n\nthe board of education but not less than Ten Thousand Dollars\n\n($10,000.00).\n\nL. The State Board of Education shall notify the board of\n\neducation of the school district of the tentative amount the\n\ndistrict is to receive from state and federal aid funds or\n\nallocations, and the board of education of the school district may\n\ninclude such tentative estimate as an item of probable income in the\n\npreparation of the school district's Estimate of Needs and Financial\n\nStatement; provided, no such federal aid estimate shall be used in\n\nany way to reduce the State Foundation Aid or Incentive Aid for such\n\nschool district or sustain a protest for the reduction of a tax\n\nlevy.","path":["OK Code","Title 70"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os70.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"b3d03f95aee00ae9ab9647aea6546b1bb2db3a8e686baa959bb20aaa0896fb22","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-5-134","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-5-135.1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}