Warrants are how your school district pays the bills. When a warrant is signed, the signatory is approving the release of the funding to pay whatever is before you.
This is required under MGL Ch. 41, sec. 56:
The selectmen and all boards, committees, heads of departments and officers authorized to expend money shall approve and transmit to the town accountant as often as once each month all bills, drafts, orders and pay rolls chargeable to the respective appropriations of which they have the expenditure. For purposes of this section, the board of selectmen and any other board, committee or head of department consisting of more than 1 member authorized to expend money, may designate any 1 of its members to approve all bills, drafts, orders and payrolls; provided, however, that the member shall make available to the board, committee or other department head, at the first meeting following such action, a record of such actions. This provision shall not limit the responsibility of each member of the board in the event of a noncompliance with this section.
Per the Massachusetts Department of Revenue legal opinion 93-983 (2/7/94):
The school committee remains the head of the school department for purposes of approving bills and payrolls under M. G.L. Ch. 41:41 and 56 after the passage of the 1993 Education Reform Act, because the new contracting and appointing powers given to the superintendent and principals under the act are subject to personnel policies and budgetary restrictions established by the Committee. Therefore, the committee must still approve all bill schedules for purchases of goods and services. It must also swear to the payroll, and may do so by designating one of its members to make oath to it.
Warrants must all be reviewed and signed prior to the bill being paid. The information provided on a warrant should make it clear what it is for. The format of a warrant is under local purview and should work for the administration, the Committee, and the town (in a municipal district).
The warrant goes to the Committee towards the end of a set of internal reviews of the charge to the district. The Committee may wish to understand what that process is to be assured that the checks and balances within the system are working properly.
The Committee may choose to designate a single member to sign warrants by vote of the Committee. The law warns that this delegation of authority “shall not limit the responsibility of each member of the board in the event of a noncompliance with this section.” The signature is the approval of the warrant; however, it is required that the warrants be made available on the next agenda as information for the rest of the Committee.
In signing a warrant, you should:
- know and understand what you are signing.
- be given a chance to review the warrants and ask questions as needed.
Committees that have not already done so may find it more manageable to ensure warrants are signed in a timely fashion by moving to an electronic signature system.
Note: cities with independent city auditors may, under their municipal charter, not be required to have warrants signed.