Chief School Financial Officer Bond - Statewide in Alabama

Brief Summary

The amount on this bond is not a statewide figure. Code of Ala. 16-13A-12 leaves it to the local board of education, and the Alabama State Department of Education will not approve anything under $100,000. Get the figure from your board minutes before you apply, and the executed Public Official Bond form can be on its way to Montgomery the same week.

Alabama requires every chief school financial officer of a local board of education to be bonded under Code of Ala. 16-13A-12. The local board fixes the amount, the State Superintendent of Education approves it, and the Alabama State Department of Education sets a floor of $100,000. The bond is written on the ALSDE Public Official Bond form, runs for the officer's full term, and a certified copy is filed with the State Superintendent.

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How to Apply for a Chief School Financial Officer Bond:

• Get the bond amount from the board minutes or appointment action. ALSDE will not approve less than $100,000.
• Provide your full legal name exactly as it appears on the appointment, your home address and Social Security number for the credit review.
• Provide the legal name of the local board of education that will be named as obligee and the start date and term of your appointment, if one was set.
• Complete the bond application, review the quoted premium and pay it, or arrange for the board to pay it under Code of Ala. 16-13-9.
• Have the ALSDE Public Official Bond form executed with the five original signatures: principal, surety, a witness for each, and the board president or chairperson.
• Send the executed form to the State Superintendent of Education for approval. The approved original is returned to the local board and a certified copy stays on file with the State Superintendent.

Detailed Information About the Alabama Chief School Financial Officer Bond:

The amount comes from your board, not the Code

Code of Ala. 16-13A-12(a) lists three groups a local board of education must bond: the local superintendent, the chief school financial officer, and any other employee the board requires to be bonded because that person handles board funds. The statute does not state a dollar figure. It says the amount is fixed by the local board of education and approved by the State Superintendent of Education. The Alabama State Department of Education fills in the floor in its Public Official Bonding Instructions: a minimum of $100,000 for local superintendents and chief school financial officers. A board may set the bond higher, and larger systems often do. Pull the exact figure from the board minutes or the personnel action that appointed you, because that is the number the surety needs and the number the State Superintendent will check against.

Who the bond protects and who signs it

The obligee is the local board of education that employs you, not the State of Alabama. The State Superintendent reviews and approves the bond, and 16-13A-12(c) requires a certified copy to be filed with the State Superintendent, but the board is the party that would recover if funds were mishandled. The bond is written on the ALSDE Public Official Bond form, an Excel template that lists Superintendent, Acting Superintendent, Interim Superintendent and Chief School Financial Officer as the positions it covers. ALSDE requires five original signatures before it will approve the bond: the principal, the surety, a witness for each, and the president or chairperson of the board. The State Superintendent signs last. The condition is faithful performance of all duties of the office for as long as you hold it.

Term and renewal

ALSDE instructs that the bond cover the entire term of office. For a CSFO that is the term stated in the board minutes. If the minutes set no term, the form is marked indefinite or continuous and the bond stays in force until you leave the position or the board replaces it. A new bond is processed when an officer begins a new term. Code of Ala. 16-13-9 authorizes the board to pay the premium from public school funds, so in practice the system, not the officer, carries the cost.

Related requirements that do not replace the bond

The CSFO position has its own qualification rules in Ala. Admin. Code 290-2-5, including three years of business experience, an accounting or business degree or CPA credential, state certification as a Certified Chief School Finance Officer, and 18 hours of continuing education a year. None of those certifications stand in for the bond. Likewise, a fidelity bond the board carries on other employees who handle money is a separate instrument and does not cover the CSFO position. If you are a State Superintendent designee filling a vacancy under 16-13A-4, the bonding requirement applies to you the same as to a board appointee.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Alabama Chief School Financial Officer Bond:

• A surety company authorized to do business in Alabama, as required by the ALSDE bonding instructions.
• Bond amount fixed by the local board of education and approved by the State Superintendent, with a $100,000 minimum.
• The local board of education named as obligee on the ALSDE Public Official Bond form.
• Position shown on the form as Chief School Financial Officer, with the term of office or the word indefinite or continuous if no term was set.
• Personal credit review of the officer. At this bond size, credit mostly shapes the rate rather than eligibility.

Alabama Chief School Financial Officer Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Alabama Chief School Financial Officer Bond: