Allen ISD Travel Guidelines

Allen ISD Travel Guidelines 2015-2016 Table of Contents General Guidelines for Employee Travel 2-3 Local Travel 3 Out of District Travel 4 Meals 4-5 Lodging/Hotels 5-6 Air Fare 6 Car Rental/Personal Vehicle 7 Parking & Ground Transportation 7-8 Registrations & Misc Expenses 8 General Guidelines for Student Travel 9 Meals 10 Lodging/Hotels 10-11 Car Rental 11 Air Fare 11 Registrations & Misc Expenses 12 General Guidelines for District Owned Vehicles 12 General Additional Guidelines for Federal Programs Travel 12 AISD TRAVEL GUIDELINES 7-1-15 Page 1

Allen ISD Travel Guidelines August 1, 2015 I. General Guidelines for Employee Travel: DEE Local Policy states: An employee shall be reimbursed for reasonable, allowable expenses incurred in carrying out District business only with prior approval of the employee s immediate supervisor. Reimbursement for authorized travel shall be in accordance with legal requirements. Travel will be categorized as Local Travel or Out of District Travel. Local Travel is any travel within a 50 mile radius of the school/facility. Out of District Travel is any travel outside a 50 mile radius of the school/facility. Mileage begins and ends at the campus or building at which the employee works. Mileage does not begin at the employee s residence. All employees are required to complete an AISD Travel Authorization Request form 15 days prior to travel. This form must be approved by the Campus/Program administrator/supervisor. For Out of State travel, this form must be approved by a Cabinet level designee or the Superintendent. For Out of Country travel, this form must be approved by the Superintendent. The original completed and approved AISD Travel Authorization Request form must be sent to Vicki McFarland in the Accounting Department and a copy attached to the employee s Out Of District Travel Expense Report and/or the monthly P Card reconciliation where charges are incurred. All Out of District travel requires an Out of District Travel Expense Report and reimbursement request to be filed within 10 days of the return. If the expense report is not filed in a timely manner, the supervisor may deny the request for reimbursement. All Local Travel requires a Local Travel Expense Report and reimbursement request to be filed monthly. Exception: If the total of the reimbursement request is less than $25, the employee may carry the balance forward to the following month. Each campus/program secretary or administrative assistant is responsible for booking or reviewing the booking to insure all travel is within the district guidelines. The employee traveling is responsible for adhering to the district guidelines during travel. Allen ISD offers meal reimbursement, not per diem. All receipts must be itemized original receipts taped to a Travel Expense Receipt form. AISD TRAVEL GUIDELINES 7-1-15 Page 2

Employee Travel cont District credit cards may be used to book travel and pay for meals. Original detailed receipts for card usage must be turned in with the monthly p-card reconciliation. When using the District credit card for meals and multiple employees are present, the names of all employees must be written on the white piece of paper to which the original receipt is taped. The Local Travel Expense Report, Out of District Travel Expense Report, Travel Expense Receipt Form, and AISD Travel Authorization Request Form can be found on the Document Library under the Employee Travel and the Accounting categories. II. Local Travel: Local travel is any travel within a 50 mile radius of the school/facility. Any employee who uses their personal vehicle for travel between campuses or facilities or to conduct school business is entitled to receive mileage reimbursement. Allen ISD will reimburse mileage only for local travel; meal reimbursement will not be applicable for local travel. The mileage reimbursement rate is $.50 per mile. Include documentation (MapQuest) to support mileage claimed. Gas/Fuel will not be reimbursed in addition to the mileage reimbursement. Fuel charges are reimbursable for rental vehicles and for Allen ISD vehicles. A Local Travel Expense Report must be filed monthly which includes a detailed mileage log for each incident. Reimbursement requests will be processed by the secretary/administrative assistant for the campus or department responsible for the employee. The employee is responsible for maintaining a detailed mileage log for all local travel. The log should be signed by the program supervisor or campus supervisor before it is submitted to the accounting office. Rental cars are not allowed for local travel. All reimbursement requests for local travel must be a minimum of $25. If the monthly amount is less than $25, it may be held by the secretary until the following month or until the request meets the minimum amount required to process. Summer temporary workers may be reimbursed at the end of their contract for local travel as opposed to the monthly report. Overnight stay for local travel is not allowed without special permission from campus administrator/program supervisor. AISD TRAVEL GUIDELINES 7-1-15 Page 3

III. Out of District/State Travel: Out of District travel is any travel outside a 50 mile radius of the school/ facility. All Out of District travel requires an AISD Travel Authorization Request form completed and signed by the Campus/Program administrator 15 days prior to travel. For Out of State travel, this form must be approved by a Cabinet level designee or the Superintendent. For Out of Country travel, this form must be approved by the Superintendent. All Out of District/State/or Country travel requires an Out of District Travel Expense Report and reimbursement request to be filed within 10 days of the return. If the expense report is not filed in a timely manner, the supervisor may deny the request for reimbursement. Allen ISD will not reimburse for entertainment events while traveling for school business. The mileage reimbursement rate is $.50 per mile. Include documentation (MapQuest) to support mileage claimed. Mileage begins and ends at the campus or facility at which the employee works, not the employee s residence. No advances will be allowed for mileage. A. Meals The meal reimbursement for in-state as well as out-of-state travel, will follow the federal guidelines for reimbursement per city. Check the following website for current rates: http://gsa.gov/portal/category/100120. The maximum daily meal reimbursable amount is the per diem rate for each city, less $5.00 for incidentals. District credit cards may be used to book travel as well as pay for meals and lodging. All credit card transactions for travel must be included with the final travel expense report presented to the secretary/administrative assistant. Original receipts for card usage must be turned in with the monthly p-card reconciliation. Meals for multiple employees can only be paid for with the District credit card. All employees names must be written on the white piece of paper to which the original itemized receipt is taped. AISD TRAVEL GUIDELINES 7-1-15 Page 4

Meals cont Detailed receipts (not credit card summary receipt) for all of the employee s meals must be taped to a Travel Expense Receipt Form and presented with the travel expense report. Tips are allowable expenses. If leaving a tip, the tip must be written on the same form to which the receipt is taped. Tips will only be reimbursed up to 20%. (Tips are part of the total maximum reimbursable amount.) Employee meals will not be reimbursed unless overnight lodging is required. (IRS Regulations) Snacks, drinks, gum, etc., will not be reimbursable expenses An advance for cost of meals is allowed up to 80% only with administrator/supervisor approval. The campus administrator/program supervisor must approve these requests in writing prior to the accounting department processing the requisition. Advances will not be issued for less than $100. No advances will be issued to employees with a district credit card. In order to finalize travel advances, an employee s campus administrator/supervisors will be notified by the Accounting department if the Out of District Travel form is not filed within 10 days of return from the trip. B. Lodging/Hotels Hotel stays are only allowable expenses if travel is outside the 50 mile radius of the campus/facility. Campus administrator/program supervisor must approve any exceptions to this guideline in writing prior to trip. Whenever offered by the hotel, the employee should book the negotiated Government Rate. The employee will need to take their Allen ISD picture ID for verification upon arrival at the hotel. State Tax will not be reimbursed for in-state hotel stay. A Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Exempt Certificate must be taken with the employee to the hotel. All lodging taxes will be reimbursed when traveling out of state. The preferred method of payment for all hotel stays is District check or District credit card. The employee is responsible for verifying if the hotel requires receipt of check prior to arrival and for requesting the check from the secretary/administrative assistant. Advance for lodging costs cannot be made payable to the employee. o Please note: Check requests must be received in the accounting office by Tuesday of each week at 4:30pm in order for a check to be cut on Friday of the same week. Plan accordingly when requesting checks for travel. AISD TRAVEL GUIDELINES 7-1-15 Page 5

Lodging/Hotels cont A detailed check-out receipt of the stay must be included with the travel expense report. The employee is responsible for obtaining the detailed receipt. Room service is allowed if it meets the guidelines for meal reimbursement. (A detail of room service charges is required) Two employees must share a room when traveling on school business. If an employee wishes to stay in their own room, the employee must pay the District in advance for the difference in cost of the single occupancy vs. double occupancy. The campus administrator/program supervisor may grant permission for single occupancy without requiring the employee to pay the difference in price, if it is documented with a signature prior to the trip. When using a District credit card for lodging for multiple employees, the names of all employees must be written on the white piece of paper to which the original receipt is taped. The original receipts must be included with the monthly reconciliation of the P Card. C. Air Fare When traveling in state, employee may fly or drive to the location. The district will either pay air fare or mileage reimbursement, but not both. If mileage costs are greater than the air fare, the district will only reimburse the price of the airline ticket. No advances will be allowed for rental cars or airfares Airfare cannot be paid by using the employee s personal credit card unless prior permission has been granted by campus administrator/program supervisor. Airline tickets purchased with an employee s personal credit card will be reimbursed after the trip, not before. The employee is expected to travel by using the most economical air fare within reason and as best meets the schedule. The air fare may be booked and purchased by the secretary/administrative assistant with a District credit card. Airfare upgrades, priority boarding, seat upgrades, etc., will not be reimbursed by the district. The District will pay for one (1) checked bag. If a travel agency is used, travel agent fees cannot exceed $30 per transaction. AISD TRAVEL GUIDELINES 7-1-15 Page 6

D. Car Rental/Personal Vehicle If the employee drives their personal vehicle, the district will reimburse mileage only, not fuel costs in addition to the mileage. If mileage costs are greater than the air fare, the district will only reimburse the price of the airline ticket. A rental car will only be an allowable expense if shuttle service is not offered to the location from the airport or if it is necessary for the employee to use a vehicle while on location. If a rental car is used, the employee will be reimbursed for fuel used during the trip. Fuel receipts must be attached to the Allen ISD Fuel Receipt Form and included with the Out of District Travel Expense Report. Mileage reimbursement is not allowed in this instance. All rental car receipts must be detailed receipts taped to a white piece of paper and included with the Out of District Travel Expense Report. The rental car must be reserved through the Allen ISD account with Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Only active employees of Allen ISD are allowed to drive the vehicle. Rental cars should be the standard size vehicle as classified by the rental car company. The rental of 12 & 15 passenger vans are not permitted by AISD. Purchase Order or district credit card is the preferred payment for all rental cars. When using a District credit card for a rental car payment, the original receipt must be included with the monthly reconciliation of the P Card. No advances will be allowed for rental cars or airfares. If a travel agency is used, the travel agent fees cannot exceed $30 per transaction. E. Parking & Ground Transportation When possible, employee should utilize the free shuttle services offered by the hotels to and from the destination airport. If the employee must drive to the local DFW airport, mileage and parking fees are reimbursable items. Tips are allowable expenses for shuttle service and taxi service drivers. Itemized receipts must be taped to a Travel Expense Receipt form and included with the expense report for reimbursement. The tip may be written on the same form. AISD TRAVEL GUIDELINES 7-1-15 Page 7

Parking and Ground Transportation cont When parking fees and tolls are required for travel, the employee must obtain a receipt for these fees. The itemized receipts must be taped to a Travel Expense Receipt form and included with the expense report for reimbursement. F. Registrations & Miscellaneous Expenses Preferred method of payment for registration fees is Purchase Order or District credit card. If an employee chooses to purchase items such as books or reading materials offered at training, those items cannot be included on the travel expense report for reimbursement. A reimbursement request for those items must be a separate check request sent to the campus administrator/program supervisor for approval. AISD TRAVEL GUIDELINES 7-1-15 Page 8

IV. General Guidelines for Student Travel All Local Student Travel must be pre-approved by the campus Principal. A Student Travel Authorization Request form must be completed and signed by the Campus Principal prior to travel. All Out of State Student Travel must be pre-approved by the campus Principal and Superintendent. A Student Travel Authorization Request form must be completed and signed by the Campus Principal and the Superintendent prior to travel. The sponsor of the group must be an Allen ISD employee and is solely responsible for the group adhering to all Allen ISD policies and guidelines. Overnight stay for local travel is not allowed without special permission from campus administrator. Each group sponsor is responsible for booking to insure all travel is within the District guidelines. Local Travel Guidelines state that rental vehicles are not allowed for Local Travel. Board Policy states that groups of students which are 15 or more must utilize school buses to transport those students to and from the activities. If travel or transportation for student groups totaling 14 or less is required for school sponsored activities within a 50 mile radius from the campus, the teacher/administrator should utilize the short bus from transportation, AISD owned Suburbans, or rent a vehicle(s) to transport those students to and from the event. Always remember: Twelve and fifteen passenger vans are not permitted to be used by Allen ISD. The state requires that a passenger van maintain a high safety rating and that roll over risk for the vehicle be low. Most 12 and 15 passenger vans do not meet the safety requirements. Allen ISD should never rent 11-15 passenger vans to transport students. Instead, use suburban(s) or similar type vehicle. If the student group will be attending entertainment events during the trip, the sponsor s fees for the entertainment events must be charged to the student activity funds, not to 199 funds. The student activity group must provide minutes from a meeting which indicate the student s voted to cover the cost of the sponsor s entertainment fees. All receipts must be itemized original receipts taped to a Travel Expense Receipt form. The group sponsor is responsible for obtaining adequate number of chaperones for the number of students traveling and for insuring all chaperones have completed the volunteer background check with Human Resources. AISD TRAVEL GUIDELINES 7-1-15 Page 9

A. Meals Allen ISD does not reimburse meals for students for Local Travel. A meal allowance of $21 a day, ($7.00 per meal) applies to all in state travel for students and must be requested in advance of the trip. For student advances the sponsor must submit an AISD Student Meal Request form (located on the Document Library) that lists students traveling with the requisition for the advance check to the campus secretary for processing. A check will be made out to the employee/sponsor who disburses funds to each student. Student signatures must validate the receipt of funds. This AISD Student Meal Request form with the original student signatures must be immediately submitted to the accounting department as backup for the advance. Food/Meal receipts are not required for Student advances. The employee/sponsor must return any unused meal allowance funds to the Secretary for deposit. A copy of the deposit slip should be attached to the AISD Student Meal Request form. Out of State travel will be $21.00 per day unless otherwise authorized by the Director of Accounting. Written request for increase is required. District credit cards may not be used for student meals. B. Lodging/Hotels Hotel stays are only allowable expenses if travel is outside the 50 mile radius of the campus/facility. Campus administrator/program supervisor must approve any exceptions to this guideline in writing prior to trip. Whenever offered by the hotel, the employee should book the negotiated Government Rate. The employee will need to take their Allen ISD picture ID for verification upon arrival at the hotel. Out of state hotel rates must follow the federal guidelines for hotel rates unless prior approval has been documented from the employee s supervisor. State Tax will not be reimbursed for in state hotel stay. A Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Exempt Certificate must be taken with the employee to the hotel. All lodging taxes will be reimbursed when traveling out of state. The preferred method of payment for all hotel stays is District check or District credit card. The employee is responsible for verifying if the hotel requires receipt of check prior to arrival and for requesting the check from the secretary/administrative assistant. o Please note: Check requests must be received in the accounting office by Tuesday of each week at 4:30pm in order for a check to be cut on Friday of the same week. AISD TRAVEL GUIDELINES 7-1-15 Page 10

Lodging/Hotels cont Plan accordingly when requesting checks for travel. Advance for lodging costs cannot be made payable to the employee. Lodging cannot be paid by using the employee s personal credit card unless prior permission has been granted by campus administrator/program supervisor. A detailed check-out receipt of the stay must be given to accounting upon return to Allen ISD. The employee is responsible for obtaining the detailed receipt. C. Car Rental A rental car will only be an allowable expense if the cost is a more economical choice over utilizing school buses or if the school buses or AISD owned Suburban s, are not available for the dates of the trip. If a rental car is used, the employee will be reimbursed for fuel used during the trip. Mileage reimbursement is not allowed in this instance. All receipts must be detailed receipts taped to a Travel Expense Receipt Form and included with the travel expense report. The rental car must be reserved through the Allen ISD account with Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Only active employees of Allen ISD are allowed to drive the vehicle. No advances will be allowed for rental cars. Purchase Order or District credit card is the preferred payment for all rental cars. When using a District credit card for a rental car payment, the original receipt must be included with the monthly reconciliation of the P Card. If a travel agency is used, the travel agency must be a preferred vendor. Travel agent fees cannot exceed $30 per transaction. D. Air Fare The employee/group is expected to travel by using the most economical air fare. The air fare may be booked and purchased by the secretary/administrative assistant with a District credit card. Upgrades for air fare (priority boarding, seat upgrades, etc.) will not be reimbursed by the district. The District will pay for one (1) checked bag. If a travel agency is used, the travel agency must be a preferred vendor. Travel agent fees cannot exceed $30 per transaction. AISD TRAVEL GUIDELINES 7-1-15 Page 11

E. Registrations & Miscellaneous Expenses Preferred method of payment for registration fees is Purchase Order or District credit card. V. General Guidelines for District Owned Vehicles FOR DISTRICT BUSINESS USE ONLY Rental is reserved on a first come first serve basis. Reservations are made through the TOM S field trip program. Rental fee is $25.00 per day plus fuel. Vehicles should be returned clean, or a $25.00 cleaning fee will be assessed. VI. General Additional Guidelines for Federal Programs Travel Employee must complete an AISD Travel Authorization Request form and check the YES box for federal program. An AISD Travel Justification For Federal Programs form must be completed and attached to the AISD Travel Authorization Request form. The travelling employee and the program director must both sign the form. An AISD Request to Exceed Hotel Lodging Rates form must be completed by the travelling employee if a conference hotel rate exceeds the federal rate for the locale. The conference hotel rate should be compared to hotels in close proximity. If the comparable hotel would require the traveler to travel by bus, taxi, or rental car to get to the conference facility, include the cost of this transportation in the comparison. The program director checks the appropriate box for which hotel is approved for the employee and signs the form. The completed and approved AISD Request to Exceed Hotel Lodging Rates form is then attached to the employee s AISD Travel Authorization Request form. AISD TRAVEL GUIDELINES 7-1-15 Page 12