Wylie Independent School District Travel Policy

Wylie Independent School District Travel Policy Each District employee and official who is authorized to travel for school business assumes a direct responsibility to limit travel claims to those actually incurred while traveling and representing Wylie ISD. Likewise, each District official and employee has a responsibility to limit travel to purposes that are clearly essential. Arrangements utilizing the most economical means of accomplishing the authorized travel must be considered. This planning should include consideration of the use of personal car or common carrier, sharing rides with other employees attending the same event, and similar alternatives if appropriate. TRAVEL CARDS ARE FOR TRAVEL ONLY THEY CANNOT BE USED TO CIRCUMVENT THE PO PROCESS THEY CANNOT BE USED FOR SPECIAL MEALS/REFRESHMENTS ie: after school meeting or school tutoring NON-REIMBURSABLE TRAVEL EXPENSES The following travel expenses are not reimbursable: 1. travel to participate in meetings of civic or social associations; ie: Rotary Club, Lions Club, etc. 2. travel to meetings of professional organizations unless approved by the District; 3. tours or other entertainment while on business travel; 4. hotel room movie rentals, room service, alcoholic beverages and expenses incurred by a spouse; 5. no upgrades on seats, flights or early bird check ins 6. Travel incurred during an employee s vacation period unless it occurs during a school related conference or workshop. TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION A signature of approval shall be secured by employees for professional out-of-town, overnight meetings and conferences on the new Request to Travel Form prior to the trip being made or prior to a request for an advance being submitted. Once completed, the form is to be scanned to your campus/department secretary. No personal charges incurred due to last minute changes to travel accommodations and/or plans will be reimbursed unless the changes are deemed reasonable and/or necessary (i.e. personal or family emergency). In accordance with the State Comptroller s TexTravel Guidelines, the District acknowledges that discount or reward programs, such as frequent flyer miles or hotel reward points are not things of value belonging to the District. The administrative burden to track the individual reward programs of employees would be administratively impractical and thus the District has determined that the employees may retain the value, if any that they receive personally due to school business related travel. Wylie ISD TRAVEL POLICY 1

OVERNIGHT TRAVEL Beginning July 1, 2017: The following services will be handled by ARTA Travel: A. Airfare B. Lodging (paid via direct bill) C. Rental Car D. Motorcoach Beginning July 1, 2017 travel advances will be issued via ACH for the following: 1. Meal Per Diem (excluding federally funded trips) 2. Mileage (Private Transportation) 3. Student Per Diem When requesting an advance for travel, the following procedure shall apply: Scan/email the approved and signed Request to Travel Form along with all back up to your campus/department secretary at least two weeks before funds are needed. Backup to include: a. Completed registration form along with agenda of conference b. If applicable: a list of students traveling along with the breakdown of their per diem, please see section below for student per diem funds. ARTA SERVICES ARTA travel is our Corporate Travel Agency. Travel arrangements will be booked through our designated agent, Lana Woods 972-422-4000 or email wylieisd@artatravel.com. Please also see revisions on last page. STEP ONE a. Campus/Department secretary will call or email ARTA to request a travel quote. b. ARTA will email the quote to the secretary and to the traveler. c. After the traveler approves the arrangements made by ARTA, the campus/department secretary will submit the Request to Travel and quote to Director/Principal for approval. Quote is only valid for 24 hours STEP TWO After approval, secretary will submit requisitions for the following: 1. Blanket PO to Bank of America (ARTA will charge the card they have on file) for airfare, hotel and rental car, (if needed) Include $30 Service Fee per traveler 3 or less, 4 or more is $100 flat fee 2. PO or Check Request to vendor for conference registration 3. Check request/ach to employee for per diem 4. Secretary will scan/email all appropriate back up to travel@wylieisd.net STEP THREE Travel Administrator will process the Purchase Order and forward to ARTA and the secretary. ARTA will make the necessary reservations and send confirmation back to the traveler, secretary and Travel Administrator. ** A free app is available to help keep you updated on your itinerary. Download TripCase Sabre to stay informed** Wylie ISD TRAVEL POLICY 2

TRAVEL RECONCILIATION Employee is required to complete a Travel Reconciliation Form within ten (10) business days upon return even if no reimbursement is requested. Failure to submit reconciliations may result in revocation of travel privileges. In the rare instance when the employee owes the District money, the money should be given to the Campus/Department Secretary, who will then deposit the money into the appropriate account. A copy of the deposit slip should be sent to travel@wylieisd.net along with the Travel Reconciliation Form. LODGING The District only allows overnight lodging for travel that occurs more than 50 miles from Wylie ISD. This means the location of the event, not the location of the hotel. The District will only pay for the actual cost for lodging. Public Schools are required to pay city/county taxes. Not all hotels will accept the tax exempt form when individuals pay for the hotel. The single room rate will apply unless shared by another employee. Hotel rates vary and every effort should be made to obtain the most economical and practical (i.e. sharing rooms when appropriate) accommodations available considering the purpose of the meeting/conference. Each employee who travels must remember they are being held to a standard and charged with the responsibility of being a good steward of tax payer s monies. Upon arrival, the traveler should verify the rate shown on the itinerary is the rate they are charged. Each employee is required to obtain a Hotel Occupancy Tax Exempt form from the campus/department secretary to be used while traveling. It is also recommended that the employee take a Sales Tax Exempt form due to the fact that some hotels will charge sales tax for parking. Please note hotels are not required to accept a tax exempt form for parking. If the employee does not utilize the hotel/motel as reserved, the department/campus secretary is responsible for cancelling the reservation with ARTA and informing the Travel Administrator of the cancellation. The District will not reimburse an employee for expenses incurred as a result of not cancelling a reservation. Please note: all hotel reservations must be made in the WISD employee s name only, not a spouse or any other family member, or friends. MEALS For overnight travel while on school business, the per diem rate for meals will not exceed the daily rate of $36.00 which was approved by the Wylie ISD Board of Trustees. Meal per diem is as follows: Breakfast - $9.00 (leave before 8:00 a.m.) Lunch - $12.00 (leave before 12:00 noon or return after 1:00 p.m.) Dinner - $15.00 (leave before 5:00 p.m. or return after 6:00 p.m.) Wylie ISD TRAVEL POLICY 3

Any special meeting, banquet, etc., requiring more than the maximum allowance for meals shall require prior approval from the Superintendent or his/her designee unless the meal is part of the registration fee. The Campus/Department Secretary will submit the check request in Skyward and submit Request To Travel Form prior to the trip in order for employee to receive per diem. Tips Tips must be a reasonable amount. Tips of 20% and less will be reimbursed. Tips over 20% will not be reimbursed. Public Transportation Out of pocket expenses associated with public transportation such as taxicabs, uber, shuttles and parking will be reimbursed after travel. If the employee utilizes any of these types of charges, receipts for such should be attached to the Travel Reconciliation Form and scanned to travel@wylieisd.net in order for the trip to be completed. Failure to do so may result in employee being held personally responsible for charges. Receipts MUST be turned back in. Regarding car rental: ARTA will take advantage of the District Contract with Enterprise. Number of Travelers Class of Car 1-2 Compact 3 Intermediate size 4-5 Full Size or Wagon FLIGHTS 1. Flight costs shall be allowable for travel events that require travel away from the traveler s home (typically, the Dallas Ft.Worth Area) 2. The departure and return dates of the flight shall be based on the start and end times of the travel event and the distance of the travel location. 3. The actual cost of commercial air transportation (lowest coach fare) to accommodate the required travel dates of the travel event shall be allowable costs. 4. Travelers should travel to their destination location by the most economical means, ie: either flight or mileage; however, travelers may opt to travel to their event destination via district/personal vehicle in lieu of flying to the event for medical or personal comfort reasons. If the traveler opts to travel to an out of state destination, the costs/reimbursement of transportation shall be limited to the lesser of the mileage or estimated flight cost. 5. Preferred carrier is SWA unless it is more economical to use a different carrier. Travelers on a SWA flight are allowed to check up to two (2) bags, limited to no more than 50 pounds each at no additional charge. Luggage charges for a third (3 rd ) bag shall not be allowable with district funds. 6. For all flights other than SWA, luggage charges if any, shall be limited to the fees for two (2) bags, up to 50 pounds per bag. 7. No personal charges incurred due to last minute changes to travel accommodations and/or plans will be reimbursed unless the changes are deemed reasonable and/or necessary ie: personal or family emergency. 8. All travel reservations should be made as far in advance as possible to take advantage of the available discounted airfares. Wylie ISD TRAVEL POLICY 4

Southwest Airlines Wanna Get Away Fares Please note that any fare booked using the Southwest Airlines Wanna Get Away Fare is non-refundable and nontransferrable. If the traveler is not able to use the fare for the flight booked, he/she will be required to use it on a separate District- related flight within the allotted time allowed by Southwest Airlines. If not, he/she shall be personally responsible for reimbursement of the flight back to the District. This also includes any low-cost, non-refundable fare regardless of airline. Airline Vouchers Any voucher received for flight changes are the property of Wylie ISD and will be retained by ARTA. Vouchers may only be redeemed on District-related business travel. They are not for personal use. PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION Travel by personally-owned private vehicle outside the District shall be advanced at the rate approved at the beginning of each fiscal year. Mileage allowances will be based on Google Maps. The current rate is.54 cents per mile. When two or more employees of the District with the same itinerary are traveling, mileage reimbursement shall be claimed and allowed for only one of the employees. In other words, everyone can drive but only one person will be reimbursed. The Campus/Department Secretary will submit the check request in Skyward and submit Request To Travel Form along with the Google Maps print-out from Wylie ISD to Conference/Meeting destination prior to the trip in order for employee to receive payment for mileage. Parking Costs All employees will pay parking costs out-of-pocket, he/she will be reimbursed after the trip via ACH deposit. Receipts MUST be turned back in with the Travel Reconciliation Form within 10 business days after the trip. To be exempt from sales tax for parking, a sales tax exemption form is required even at most hotels. **Please note that the Sales Tax Exemption form and the Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption form are two different forms.** FYI, hotels are not required to accept a tax exempt form for parking. If public and valet parking are available, the District will only reimburse for public parking, valet parking will be reimbursed if it is the only option at the hotel and verification will be necessary. If parking at a facility is paid thru a toll tag, the employee must obtain a receipt from the Toll Authority thru the NTTA website and submit for reimbursement. Wylie ISD TRAVEL POLICY 5

OUT OF STATE TRAVEL Those who wish to attend a conference out of state will be required to obtain additional approval from the appropriate Assistant Superintendent or Executive Director. Athletics Kyle Craighead Campus/Instructional Staff Dr. Kim Spicer Communications/Public Relations Ian Halperin Finance Michele Trongaard Human Resources & Transportation Scott Winn Maintenance/Grounds/Custodial Jennifer DuPlessis All other normal procedures apply. LOCAL CONFERENCES/WORKSHOPS Employees attending a local conference or workshop are required to complete the Request to Travel Form. Payment for the local conference registration will be made using a Purchase Order or Check Request following the same procedures as overnight conferences. All backup/invoices should be scanned to travel@wylieisd.net. IN-DISTRICT TRAVEL Wylie ISD district employees may be reimbursed for authorized and approved travel between school campuses and/or offices. In-District travel is defined as personnel traveling for the school District at the principal s or director s request. Approved mileage will be reimbursed at the mileage rate in effect for the fiscal year in which the travel occurs. Employees may only claim mileage for the distance between the first place of work and subsequent campuses and/or offices. Employees may not claim mileage for the distance between their home and work. For in-district travel reimbursement, please refer to the mileage chart and mileage log. For trips other than school campuses and/or offices, employee must submit a Google Maps print-out showing the miles traveled and agenda or email regarding the workshop/meeting. Travel must be made by the most direct route. For reimbursement, a check request or blanket purchase order must be entered in Skyward and the employee should complete the In-District Mileage Log with the appropriate signature of approval. The log is then to be scanned to travel@wylieisd.net for payment reconciliation. All logs for the prior month must be received by the 10 th of the month. No exceptions. Wylie ISD TRAVEL POLICY 6

BOARD MEMBER TRAVEL Expenses involving School Board members while traveling on school business will be reimbursed at actual cost. Receipts are required including meals. FEDERALLY FUNDED TRAVEL On December 26, 2014, new regulations from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), codified as Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (2 CFR) Part 200, were incorporated into general federal regulation. The new regulations govern all federal grants awarded by the US Department of Education (USDE) to the state or to an LEA on or after that date. These revised regulations are known as the new Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR). Travel using federal funds follows normal travel procedures with the following exceptions: The use of federal funds must be noted on any and all Request to Travel and/or Reconciliation Forms STUDENT TRAVEL All WISD student travel should be in compliance with District Policies. No student may travel to represent Wylie ISD unless accompanied by a WISD employee. For accountability purposes, every student must have a student partner assigned to them (buddy system). Students may not be transported in a personal vehicle under any circumstances. Guidelines for student travel for registration fees, hotel stays and meals using District funding include the items presented above with the following modifications: Please contact Travel Specialist for student incidental card. (rev. 10/5/17) Student Meals Meal per diem will be provided at a maximum of: Breakfast - $6.00 Lunch - $8.00 Dinner - $12.00 Sponsor will receive an ACH deposit for student meals. The campus/department secretary will submit the check request in Skyward and submit a student request to travel form prior to the trip in order for the Sponsor/Teacher to receive the per diem via ACH Scan/email the approved and signed Request to Travel Forms to travel@wylieisd.net at least two weeks before funds are needed. Please note that any and all Wylie ISD employees accompanying students on overnight trips must fill out a Request to Travel Form as well. Back up to include the following: 1. Completed registration form along with agenda paid via Purchase Order or Check Request 2. List of students traveling along with breakdown of their per diem (if applicable) Please see pg 2 for additional information on making travel arrangements with ARTA. Wylie ISD TRAVEL POLICY 7

CHAPERONE TRAVEL A chaperone is required for all student trips. There shall be no less than 1 adult per 10 students on any given K-6 field trip. There must be a same sex chaperone for all students traveling overnight. Wylie ISD prohibits hotel sharing between students, teachers, sponsors and chaperones. The only exception is if the chaperone is a parent of a student traveling. All chaperones must complete the Wylie ISD on-line volunteer application. Volunteer applications may take up to a week to process. Once a chaperone is approved, he/she may volunteer in the District throughout the year. Wylie ISD requires all volunteers to complete the volunteer application each school year. MOTORCOACHES The District may use motorcoaches for extracurricular activities with ten or more students. You may contact ARTA for these services. FIELD TRIPS Due to the nature of many/most field trips, contacting the vendor is advised to be sure they accept a Purchase Order or Check Request. **Any exceptions deviating from the travel policy shall be approved in writing by the Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Business Operations. REVISIONS as of 10/5/17 Superintendent, Cabinet, Principals and Directors have the following options: * Book their own airfare * Book their own hotel * Book their rental car * Register for conference by using a Purchase Order OR They can use ARTA to book airfare, hotel and rental car All other without a travel card can "NOW" do the following: * Book their travel with ARTA * Book travel using their personal credit card and get reimbursed "AFTER" the trip. Student travel remains the same. Notify Susie if you need to check out a student incidental card. CONFERENCE HOUSING Secretary is available to check out a travel card by emailing travel@wylieisd.net. Secretary must provide all pertinent information ie: request to travel form for all travelers, agenda, date of conference, location and cost. After all pertinent information has been received in travel, Susie will contact secretary to schedule a date and time to check out the travel card. Secretary will need to contact hotel to obtain a Pre-Authorization Form for hotel charges. Wylie ISD TRAVEL POLICY 8

Travel card will be due back in the Purchasing Department the following day along with your completed hotel pre-authorization form. Susie will take completed form and finalize the reservation with credit card information and send back to the hotel. RECONCILIATION/RECEIPTS A PO may be entered at the time of reservation or at the end of the billing cycle whichever is more convenient for your department. Reconciliation is mandatory even if no monies are due back to the traveler. All receipts must accompany reconciliation no more than 10 business days after the trip is complete. Missing receipts: Wylie ISD will pay up to $25 with a completed missing receipt form. Missing receipts greater than $25 will be at the expense of the traveler. After 3 missing receipt forms, there could be possible loss of privileges. Receipts not turned in on time may lose advanced pay privileges ( per diem/mileage).