HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) - The Hutchinson School District is suing a Missouri-based group in a dispute over proceeds from a student fundraising effort.
The Kansas school district filed a lawsuit against Education Funding Group in Reno County District Court, claiming that it didn't receive its share of proceeds from a student fundraiser held during the last academic year, the Hutchinson News reported (http://bit.ly/1rAOrgc). It's estimating the loss between $11,000 and $15,000.
In 2012, the district worked with the company for a fundraiser in which students sold $10 discount cards with discounts to various local business and restaurants. When Education Funding Group sent a check to the Hutchinson district for its portion of the profit, the check bounced due to insufficient funds.
Superintendent Shelly Kiblinger said the company rectified the situation and gave the impression the bounced check was an unusual occurrence.
In 2013, the Hutchinson district signed a contract with the business for another discount card fundraiser, and under the agreement, the district and company were to evenly split proceeds from the cards. Education Funding Group was supposed to arrange for the businesses offering discounts to maintain an accounting of the fundraiser and to ensure all unsold cards would be delivered to the district.
The district said none of that happened and that the company also didn't provide prizes that were supposed to reward students for their efforts, Kiplinger said.
In a response to the lawsuit, the Education Funding Group disagreed that it failed to carry out its obligations under the contract.
According to the Kansas Secretary of State's website, when the district signed the 2013 contract, the Missouri group had already forfeited its business status in Kansas.
Kiplinger said the district doesn't have a policy to check a contractor's business status, particularly with companies it's worked with before.