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Policies » Section D: Fiscal Management » DFA: Investment

Policy Date: 05/16/2023

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HSD File: DFA
HOOKSETT SCHOOL DISTRICT
INVESTMENT

The Hooksett School Board authorizes the School District Treasurer, working in conjunction with the
Superintendent and his/her designee and pursuant to RSA 197:23-a, to invest the funds of the district
subject to the following objectives and standards of care:

OBJECTIVES
The three objectives, in priority order, of investment activities shall be safety, liquidity, and yield.
1. Safety of Principal is the foremost objective in this policy. Investments shall be undertaken in
a manner that seeks to ensure the preservation of capital by mitigating credit and interest rate
risk. This will be accomplished by limiting the type of the investments and institutions to
those stipulated by statute and fully covered by FDIC insurance or collateral approved
pursuant to applicable law.
2. Liquidity of the investment portfolio shall remain sufficient to meet all operating requirements
that may be reasonably anticipated.
3. Yield. The investment portfolio shall be designed with the objective of attaining a market rate
of return throughout budgetary and economic cycles, taking into account the investment risk
constraints and liquidity needs. Return on investment is of secondary importance compared
to the safety and liquidity objectives described above.

STANDARD OF CARE
1. Prudence: The standard of care to be used by the School District Treasurer and
Superintendent or his/her designee involved in the investment process shall be the “prudent
person” standard and shall be applied in the context of managing an overall portfolio. They
are directed to use the GFOA* Recommended Practices and Policy Statements Related to Cash
Management as a guide to the prudent investment of public funds.
2. Ethics and Conflicts of Interest: The School District Treasurer and Superintendent, or
his/her designee involved in the investment process, shall refrain from personal business
activity that could conflict with the proper execution and management of the investment
program or that could impair their ability to make impartial decisions. Employees and
Investment officials shall disclose any material interests in financial institutions with which
they conduct business. They shall further disclose any personal financial/investment positions
that could be related to the performance of the investment portfolio. Employees and officials
shall subordinate their personal investment transactions to those of the School District,
particularly with regard to the timing of purchases and sales.
3. Internal Controls: All checks will be signed by the Treasurer (electronic signatures are
acceptable), since the checks are signed electronically the Treasurer will be notified via email
when payroll and accounts payable checks are ready to be issued. The Treasurer will reply
with their approval to release the checks.

The Business Office staff will keep a running total of the cash in the checking account to verify
that there is enough money to cover the disbursements for the district.

The Treasurer reconciles the checking account on a monthly basis. The Business Office staff
reconciles the cash account and ensures that the cash account and the Treasurer’s reconciliation
agree.

The investment policy will be reviewed annually by the Board.

*Government Finance Officers Association

Adopted: December 21, 1999
Revised: June 3, 2008
Revised: April 7, 2009
Reviewed: April 20, 2010, May 3, 2011, June 20, 2012
Reviewed/Revised: January 3, 2017
Reviewed: February 20, 2018, June 4, 2019, June 16, 2020, April 20, 2021, May 17, 2022, May 16, 2023

Legal References:
RSA 197:23-a, Treasurer’s Duties
RSA 383:22, Public Deposit Investment Pool