Furniture Disposal and Moving Procedures

The following information is intended to assist the Administrators and Instructional and support staff with the proper methods used to store or dispose of furniture within the school district.

Our district has a very limited amount of storage at each building. With this in mind the support staff is often forced to move items from one campus to another to provide proper storage while protecting the items that are being stored. Items are district property and can be moved from campus to campus if the move allows for a cost effective use of the resource. At the same time we realize that from year to year we need some flexibility in each school to provide for the needs of our students.

Please be aware the storage, movement of the items as well as the conditions we are forced to place the items in, is extremely hard on the items being stored. The best way to keep the item in good shape is to keep the item in the classroom where it was originally assigned. Keep in mind that one year an instructor may have extra items and the following year, the room may be short of needed items. Often the problem is resolved by simply moving a few items from one room to the other to handle the need. At times we may be able to make this work more effectively by using short term storage to assist with this need. This has been the driving force behind making some items “standard” within the grade levels and departments. It allows us to transfer these items to areas where the need is greatest while maintaining a uniform look within the classrooms.

Storage is hard to come by so whenever possible keep the items in the rooms to allow the district to provide for long term annual needs.A problem our custodial staff will at times confront, is an item or items moved in the hallway with no name or markings on the particular item. Often the item is useful but is being removed simply to get it out of an individual’s classroom. When this happens we have three options which we are then forced to take. We either place the item back in the nearest room we hope it is the one it came from. Option two and three, we store (keep in mind storage is so limited that it often isn’t an option) or disposed of the item.

Board policy outlines the proper method used to dispose of items. Be aware an instructor can “suggest” what they would like done with the item but it is not within their authority or mine to simply dispose of the item. To dispose of an item requires board approval requiring the item to be listed as a surplus item and it is then auctioned.

With this in mind I am preparing this information to establish a method to properly handle this situation.

Step 1: Notification of Building Administrator

The instructor should first visit with their building administrator prior to any action being taken. The purpose is to determine the need for the item as well as value of the item. The administrator and instructors within the school or department may choose to move the item to another classroom within the department or building. If this occurs no other action is required the item will simply be moved to the new area.

Step 2: When an item is requested to be stored or disposed of.

The administrator should contact the Operations Director to request storage or disposal. This step will allow a review by the Operations Director, to see if the item can be used in another building, should be stored or if steps should be taken to actually dispose of the item.

Step 3: If an administrator requests an Item is to be stored for a short term, and returned to the area it was originally assigned to.

The operations Director requests that the item have an identifying marker added. This information should include the room it was removed from and the date it was removed as well as the instructor and administrator making the request. If no information is attached then the item can be moved to any area within the district where it can actually be used. If the item is properly marked the storage will be provided for a 12 month period. After the 12 months has expired, the item is then free to be moved to any area within the district where it can serve a purpose. The item may or may not be stored on the campus it was originally assigned to. Much of this will depend on available storage space.

Step 4: Disposal of items.

The disposal of items will be handled by the Operations Director and then only after the building administrator has made the request.Please keep in mind that our efforts in this area are developed to create the most cost effective methods to maintain the districts assets. Our goal is to provide the items needed by our students while avoiding waste simply due to a lack of communication.