2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 70. Schools › §70-5-124. Board contracts prohibited - Exceptions.

A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, no board of education of any school district in this state shall make any contract with any of its members or with any company, individual or business concern in which any of its members shall be directly or indirectly interested. All contracts made in violation of this section shall be wholly void. A member of a board of education shall be considered to be interested in any contract made with any company, individual, or any business concern if the member of the board of education or any member of the immediate family of the member owns any substantial interest in same.
B. For purposes of this section, the following shall not be considered the making of a contract:
1. Any contract with a qualified nonprofit Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3) organization, except for contracts paying salaries or expenses or except a contract involving the counseling or instruction of students or staff;
2. Monthly billings submitted to any school district for public utility companies, electric cooperatives or telephone companies, whose services are regulated by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, or billings of the utility companies, electric cooperatives or telephone companies pertaining to installations or changes in service, where tariffs for the charges or billings by the companies are on file with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission; and
3. The depositing of any funds in a bank or other depository.
C. 1. The governing board of a technology center school district may enter into a contract for the technology center school district to provide training for a company, individual or business concern by which a member of the board is employed. A board member shall abstain from voting on any such contract between the technology center school district board and the company, individual or business concern by which the member is employed.
2. A board of education may enter into a contract with a company, individual, or business concern in which a board member or a member's spouse is employed by or has a substantial interest if the company, individual, or business concern is the only supplier having a place of business located within the school district or within ten (10) miles of the needed services or materials. The board member shall abstain from voting on any such contract between the company, individual, or business concern in which that member has a substantial interest, and the minutes of the board meeting at which the contract is approved shall state that the contract is being made because of the lack of another supplier with a place of business located within the school district.
3. A board of education which has entered into a lease-purchase agreement, prior to the time a board member which has a substantial interest in the company, individual, or business concern became a member of the board of education, may, after the member becomes a board member, continue to exercise any fiscal year options in the lease-purchase agreement for renewal of the lease-purchase for the balance of the contract term. The affected board member shall abstain from voting on such fiscal year renewal of the continuation of the lease-purchase agreement.
4. A board of education may enter into a contract with a company, individual or business concern in which a board member or a spouse of a member is employed and has no substantial interest if the school district does not include any part of a municipality with a population greater than two thousand five hundred (2,500) according to the latest Federal Decennial Census and the company, individual or business concern is located in the corporate limits of a municipality which is in the boundaries of the school district.
D. A board member shall not be considered to be directly or indirectly interested in any contract with a company, individual, or business concern that employs such board member or the spouse of the board member if the board member or the spouse of the board member has an interest of five percent (5%) or less in the company, individual, or business concern.
Added by Laws 1971, c. 281, § 5-124, eff. July 2, 1971. Amended by Laws 1987, c. 102, § 2, emerg. eff. May 22, 1987; Laws 1992, c. 394, § 2, emerg. eff. June 10, 1992; Laws 1993, c. 118, § 1; Laws 1996, c. 341, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 1996; Laws 1997, c. 317, § 4, emerg. eff. May 29, 1997; Laws 1998, c. 365, § 9, eff. July 1, 1998; Laws 2001, c. 33, § 73, eff. July 1, 2001.
NOTE: Laws 1993, c. 106, § 1 repealed by Laws 1993, c. 360, § 18, eff. July 1, 1993.