Administrative Procedure 3260 - Property Disposal

I. Purpose

To ensure maximum utilization of materials and equipment within the Prince George’s County Public School System and to provide for the orderly disposal of items which are surplus to the school system.

II. Policy

All books, equipment, supplies, furniture or other tangible units procured by and donated to the Public School System from any source shall become the property of the Board of Education of Prince George’s County and shall not be altered, defaced, sold, or disposed of except as provided for by the Superintendent of Schools. (Board Policy 3260)

Additionally, the Public School Construction Program Procedural Guide, issued by the Interagency Committee for State Public School Construction (IAC) stipulates that:

“Equipment funded through the State Construction Program may not be transferred or moved from the facility approved by the Committee to any other place without the prior written approval of the Committee.”

III. Information

PGCPS has a great variety of materials in use, including furniture items, many kinds of equipment, a large inventory of books, materials of instruction and supplies. From time to time, some of these items will be unserviceable or beyond repair and must be disposed of, while others are in good condition but are not needed by the school where they are located.

There is a responsibility held by all PGCPS administrators for the effective use of the resources entrusted to their care, and items which are not required by one school must be made available for the use of other schools. Also, equipment items which have become unserviceable, but have residual asset value must be reported to the Purchasing and Supply Department for disposal from the school system. These procedures provide for:

Determination of local school or office excess items which may be redistributed within the system.
Reporting of excess/unserviceable equipment for disposal.
Purging from PGCPS unwanted items together with recovery of residual asset value by sale or trade-in.

Please note that no individual has the authority to sell, donate, loan, or otherwise dispose of any property of the Board of Education except as authorized specifically by the Chief Executive Officer. In PGCPS, the Purchasing and Supply Department is responsible for all matters of excess property redistribution and disposal.

EXCEPTION: Obsolete or worn-out books are an exception for which the appropriate Instructional Supervisor will first review lists of such books for (1) reuse within the school system, (2) donation to other school systems, or (3) donation to other specific individuals who may benefit from their use, prior to being transferred to the Instructional Materials Repository. Nothing in these administrative procedures is intended to change the normal practices of operating departments in arranging and obtaining repair or maintenance of items of equipment under their control.

IV. Definitions

The following definitions apply to the content of this procedure:

Books: A special class of items in the school system to be considered separately apart from usual supplies and materials.
Disposal: All actions taken by the Purchasing and Supply Department to rid the system of excess, surplus, or worn-out material.
Donation: Actions to transfer assets to/from the Prince George’s County Public School System without sale or charge.
Property: Books, equipment, or materials which are not consumed in the process of being used.
Reclamation: All actions to restore an unserviceable item to a serviceable condition.
Supplies: Materials or items which are normally consumed in the process of being used for purpose intended.
Surplus: Property, supplies, or materials for which no requirement exists within the school system.
Shelf Life: Normal time in storage during which an item retains its full service capability.
Cannibalization: The use of an item of equipment as a source of individual parts for maintenance and repair of other equipment.
Materials of Any materials required in the classroom learning Instruction: processes with the exception of office supplies and equipment.

V. Procedures

Worn-out or Obsolete Textbooks:
1. Obsolete Textbooks
  1. A Memo is distributed by the Textbooks Office alerting schools which textbooks are becoming obsolete.
  2. Schools zero out obsolete inventory on their year-end TIPWeb audits.
  3. Schools collect obsolete textbooks and stage them in a central location in the building to prepare for pick up.
  4. Textbook Coordinators contact the Textbooks Office and alert them of the location of the obsolete textbooks.
  5. Obsolete textbook are picked up either by the warehouse staff or an outside vendor based on the dates provided in the Memo that is distributed.
2. Worn Out or Damaged Textbooks
  1. Textbooks that are no longer usable based on wear and tear or in building disasters such as floods, fires or mold are considered worn out or damaged.
  2. Schools create a Destroyed Adjustment in TIPWeb to account for any worn out or damaged textbooks.
  3. The Textbooks Office sends a driver to pick up the books and the Destroyed Adjustment is processed upon receipt in the warehouse.
  4. Schools may need to contact the Office of Risk Management to facilitate the replacement of books damaged in disasters such as floods, fires or mold.
Worn-out or Obsolete Library Books

Schools and centers are to dispose of worn-out or obsolete library books in accordance with the instructions contained in “Process Guide for School Library Media Centers: A Balanced Approach PreK-12” Revised 2013, and refer to page 28, where it indicates that the media specialist should “Complete the Material Transfer form and work with the school secretary to contact the Warehouse for recycling” (see Attachment).
Instructional Materials
1. School should complete the Material Transfer/Report of Excess Property Form
2. Forward the Material Transfer/Report of Excess Property Form to Instructional Supervisor and follow procedure in “A” above.
Hazardous and Toxic Material
1. The disposal of hazardous and toxic material will be in accordance with Federal and State regulations. When hazardous and/or toxic material is determined to be in excess of actual requirements or its life expectancy date has expired, such material will be reported, using the Material Transfer/Report of Excess Property Form, to the Purchasing Office for appropriate action.
2. Hazardous and toxic material reported for disposal is to be identified as completely as possible to include expiration dates and type of container, i.e. plastic or glass bottle/jar, cardboard box, etc.
3. Hazardous and toxic material will not be transported in Board of Education vehicles to the Supply Services Center for storage pending disposal action. All such material will be disposed of onsite by authorized companies with whom the Purchasing Office enters into agreement for removal and disposal.
Controlled Documents
1. Disposal of controlled documents, i.e. paychecks, student records, tests, etc. will be accomplished by shredding. Submit requests to shred controlled documents to the Supply Services Center, using the Material Transfer/Report of Excess Property Form, providing the following information:
  1. Contents of the container(s).
  2. Beginning and ending serial numbers, if applicable.
  3. Any serial number(s) excluded from the container. All containers must be sealed thoroughly.
2. All requests for shredding controlled documents that are not packed in sealed containers and the accompanying information identified above will not be accepted.
3. At the shredding site, only one container will be opened at a time. A log will be maintained indicating the contents and serial numbers processed, along with the date and individual name(s) of the persons performing the shredding process.
Other Items Returned for Credit to Operating Funds
1. To qualify for credit on return of an item, the following applies:
  1. Total value of the item must exceed $5.00 based upon prices in the current supply catalog.
  2. Item must be in “like-new” serviceable condition.
  3. Items must be packed in the standard unit of issue, and fully identified by stock and description as shown in the supply catalog.
  4. Remaining shelf-life must be at least six months.
  5. Provide Cost Center and Account Number to which credit is to be applied.
  6. No credit will be given for any item not appearing in the supply catalog, and no monetary credit will be given for furniture or equipment.
2. To return the item(s) concerned:
  1. Prepare Material Transfer/Report of Excess Property Form available from the Purchasing and Supply Services website.
  2. Include all appropriate information, following the Form’s instructions.
  3. Tag the item with stock number, description, and set aside for later pick-up by the Supply Services Center.
  4. Retain quadruplicate copy of Material Transfer/Report of Excess Property. Forward remaining three copies to the Supply Services Center.
  5. The Supply Services Center will pick up material as soon as practicable. Where, for any reason, credit is denied, the Supply Services Center will return the duplicate copy to the school or office concerned marked, “No Credit Allowed” and state the reason.
Excess Items Returned – No Monetary Credit Involved
1. School or office prepares Material Transfer/Report of Excess Property Form including all applicable information detailed in the instructions.
2. Tag the item(s) concerned with the stock number(s), description, and serial number (if applicable) – set aside for future pick-up by the Supply Services Center.
3. Retain a copy of the Material Transfer/Report of Excess Property and note on this copy location information for the item(s) or other special information needed to locate and identify the item(s).
4. Forward by e-mail to: Material.Transfers@PGCPS.org.
5. The Supply Services Center will pick up the items as soon as possible.
6. Parcel Post size packages of excess items may be returned via the Courier Mail Service (PONY). All excess returned by this method are to be accompanied by the Material Transfer/Report of Excess Property Form and marked to the attention of “Central Receiving”.
Furniture and Equipment
Excess and/or unserviceable furniture and/or equipment will follow the same procedure as in “G” above. There will be no monetary value given for items in this category.
Cannibalization: Cannibalization is the disassembly of equipment for parts. The following procedures apply:
1. No item of equipment considered for trade-in may be cannibalized except audio-visual equipment and lawnmowers. Only the Plant Maintenance Department is authorized to perform cannibalization.
2. When cannibalization is appropriate, the Associate Superintendent for the Division generating the item will, in all cases, provide written authorization with full description of the item(s) to be cannibalized to the shop concerned. A copy of such authorization will be furnished to the Purchasing Office and Inventory Control.
3. After cannibalization has been completed, and in no case later than 30 days after the original authority for cannibalization, the residual equipment shall be reported to the Purchasing Office for disposal.
Disposal of Worn-out American Flags: All worn-out American flags will be disposed of by burning in accordance with U.S. Code, Title 36, Section 176, Paragraph J. The following governs:
1. Worn-out American flags will be treated with respect. They are not to be rolled, balled-up, or stuffed in any container.
2. Worn-out American flags will be properly folded and wrapped. The outside of the wrapper will be clearly marked: “WORN-OUT AMERICAN FLAG” and addressed to the Supply Services Center via the Courier Mail (PONY).
3. The Supply Services Center will forward all worn-out American flags to the American Legion Post #275; 8201 Martin Luther King Jr Highway, MD 20706, in accordance with the U.S. Code.
Disposal of Worn-out Maryland State and County Flags
Worn-out Maryland State and County flags will be disposed of in the same manner as that prescribed for the American flag.
Purchasing and Supply Department Internal Actions
1. The Supply Services Center will arrange for pick-up of materials reported on the Material Transfer/Report of Excess Property, in accordance with the foregoing.
2. Items accepted for stock will result in credit to the appropriate operating account indicated on the turn-in document.
3. Furniture and equipment items which are repairable and for which demands still exist, will be repaired under internal Purchasing and Supply Department procedures.
4. Excess items will be made available to schools and offices for issue without charge, on a first-come, first-served basis.
5. Residual items will be declared excess to the School System.
6. The Director, Purchasing and Supply Department, will dispose of surplus generated from these procedures in the following priority:
  1. Donations to the Home Schooling Office and Charter Schools – Materials deemed eligible for home schooling families will be collected and distributed from a site determined by PGCPS.
  2. Trade-in – Equipment beyond economical repair but having a trade-in value will be used to apply such value toward the purchase of new equipment, where applicable.
  3. Donations to other school systems or other public institutions for any possible use.
  4. Sale of Items – Proceeds to be credited to Miscellaneous Income Account Sale of Scrap. All checks in payment shall be made to the Board of Education.
  5. Dump as Waste – Any item which is identified to be dumped as waste is to be visually inspected by either the Assistant for Purchasing or the Supervisory Buyer who will annotate the disposal document that the item is unserviceable and has no residual value to the School System.
7. The internal procedures of Purchasing Services will provide for the proper use of advertising, competitive bidding, certificates of assurances, where required, and other clauses or certificates as may be required by good purchasing and selling practices, and by law.
8. Appropriate records shall be maintained in Purchasing Services which shall support monies received as a result of disposal actions for a period of three years, after which these records may be destroyed.

VI. Monitoring and Compliance

The Purchasing and Supply Department is responsible for all matters of excess property redistribution and disposal and shall maintain records for at least three years regarding monies received as a result of disposal actions.
All staff is responsible for following the standard procedures in arranging and obtaining repair or maintenance of items of equipment under their office or department’s control.

VII. Related Policies and Procedures

None.

VIII. Maintenance and Update of These Procedures

These procedures originate with the Purchasing and Supply Department and will be updated as needed.

IX. Cancellations and Supersedures

This Administrative Procedure cancels and supersedes Administrative Procedure 3260, dated April 1, 2012 and all memoranda or other writings on this subject of a prior date.