Board members spent a substantial portion of the session weighing rules for accepting gifts and recognizing donors after staff outlined NEOLA options and the practical consequences of different thresholds.

One board member used a recurring donor as an example: "Kona Ice… have given more than $250,000 over, I think, a 4 year period back to our schools collectively," Dr. Campbell said, explaining that strict per‑instance thresholds can prevent the board from acknowledging organizations who give repeatedly across multiple schools. Board members and counsel discussed a range of options: (1) allow the superintendent authority to accept unconditional gifts below a set threshold and require board acknowledgment for gifts above a threshold; (2) accept items provisionally while legal and risk‑management reviews are completed; and (3) maintain board acknowledgment for gifts above a dollar threshold but permit the superintendent to aggregate and present staggered recognitions for multi‑site donors.

Counsel and staff recommended a formal gift‑acceptance procedure that would capture: donor identity and intended use; whether any terms or conditions attach to the gift; title transfer; insurance and maintenance implications for donated equipment; and whether the gift triggers naming or advertising considerations. The board expressed particular interest in a superintendent authority clause with required reporting and a board‑level acknowledgement process for larger or conditionally accepted donations.

The session did not adopt final thresholds or precise text. Instead, the board asked staff to draft a gift‑acceptance procedure that includes required documentation, a chain of custody for donated equipment, insurance and maintenance checks, and a recommended dollar threshold for automatic board acknowledgement. Staff will also include language allowing the superintendent to accept unconditional gifts while routing conditionally‑encumbered or titled gifts to the board for prior approval.