BP177 – Disposal of Surplus Items

Effective: 1/25/1972
Revision: 6/29/1999

Board Directive
The policy of the Board of Education is to see that schools and departments are provided with furniture, equipment and textbooks which are functional, up-to-date, and in useable condition. The Board is also committed to assure the highest utilization possible of all items purchased with public funds. Therefore, the Board delegates to the Administration responsibility for developing guidelines which facilitate appropriate transfer, resale, reuse, and disposal of surplus items. These guidelines shall be outlined in the Purchasing Manual.
Administrative Policy
This policy shall be administered according to the following policy provisions:
1. Administration Responsibility
  A school or department administrator may declare property owned by the District to be surplus by making a written determination that the property:
  1. Is excess property that is no longer being used;
  2. Has exceeded its useful life;
  3. Is no longer usable;
  4. Is damaged and cannot be repaired;
  5. Is damaged and cannot be repaired at a cost that is less than the property’s value; or
  6. Is no longer required to meet the District’s needs or responsibilities.
2. Purchasing Department
  The Purchasing Department shall establish rules and procedures for the disposal of surplus property to include:
  1. Procedures for the transfer of District surplus property from one location to another;
  2. Procedures governing school/district administration requirements;
  3. Requirements governing purchasing priorities;
  4. Requirements governing accounting, reimbursement, and payment procedures;
  5. Procedures for collecting bad debts;
  6. Procedures governing the timing and location of public sales of District surplus property; and
  7. Procedures governing the disposition of information technology equipment.
3. Motor Vehicles
  1. Motor vehicles which have been declared surplus shall be sold by bid, public auction, or used as a trade-in toward a replacement vehicle.
  2. Motor vehicles that are estimated to have little to no resale value due to parts being removed to use on other District-owned vehicles of similar type and function, may be:
    1. Donated to another governmental agency within the state of Utah to conduct trainings or exercises as deemed appropriate; or
    2. Sold for scrap metal.
  3. The bidding procedures shall follow the guidelines outlined in the Purchasing Manual.
  4. District-owned vehicles available for surplus may not have any ancillary or component parts or equipment removed, destroyed, or detached from the vehicle prior to the sale without approval of the Purchasing Department, unless:
    1. The ancillary or component parts or equipment will be used on other District-owned vehicles;
    2. The department or school in possession of the vehicle intends to transfer the ancillary or component parts or equipment to another vehicle within the District; or
    3. The school or department has obtained prior approval from the Purchasing Department to remove ancillary or component parts or equipment from the vehicle intended for surplus.
4. Furniture and Equipment
  1. District-owned property shall not be destroyed, sold, transferred, traded-in, traded, discarded, donated or otherwise disposed of unless the procedures set forth in the Purchasing Manual are followed.
  2. When a school or department determines that District-owned property is in excess to current needs, it will:
    1. Use as a trade-in on a replacement item.
    2. Transfer directly to another school or department.
    3. Resale or transfer to another governmental agency through negotiated agreements approved by the Purchasing Department.
    4. Notify the Purchasing Department in writing that the school or department has surplus property.
  3. Only those items which cannot be used within the school district, resold, or given away shall be disposed of according to District guidelines.
5. Textbooks
  1. The District will follow Utah Code 53G-7-602, when determining when textbooks are no longer needed by the District.
  2. Textbooks which are in usable condition shall be made available to all other Jordan District schools according to the following methods:
    1. A list of available textbooks shall be circulated to all District schools by the Administrator of Teaching and Learning;
    2. A database provided by a third party contractor that is in the business of collecting surplus textbooks;
    3. Any other means the District can make available to other schools in the District as directed and approved by the Administrator of Teaching and Learning;
    4. School administrators may request available textbooks on a first come, first served basis.
  3. Textbooks, which are in such deplorable condition that they are unusable or which cannot be transferred, resold, or given away, shall be stamped "discarded" and destroyed.
6. Discarding Library/Media Books
  In order to maintain a current base of resources in a library media center, it is necessary to “weed” a library collection when materials become worn out, out-dated, or fail to meet curriculum needs. The following procedures should be followed in discarding library/media books and materials:
  1. The library media specialist will be responsible for “weeding” the library media collection based on the condition of the materials. The process will include removing the items from the circulation inventory.
  2. The discarded materials will be offered first to teachers in the school for classroom and school use only.
  3. The surplus books and materials will be made available to other District library media specialists.
  4. Books not wanted by the teachers in the school or other District school library media centers will be compiled in a list and boxed and labeled with the school name and the appropriate grade level of the materials (K-6, 7-9, or 10-12).
  5. The discarded books will be sent to the Purchasing Department for appropriate handling of the discarded materials and according to the Purchasing Manual.