School Board Policy 412 -
Expense Reimbursement

I. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to identify school district business expenses that involve initial payment by an employee and qualify for reimbursement from the school district, and to specify the manner by which the employee seeks reimbursement.

II. Authorization

All school district business expenses to be reimbursed must be approved by the supervising administrator. Such expenses to be reimbursed may include transportation, meals, lodging, registration fees, required materials, parking fees and other reasonable and necessary school district business-related expenses.

III. Reimbursement

A. Requests for reimbursement must be itemized on the official school district form and are to be submitted to the designated administrator. Receipts for lodging, commercial transportation, registration and other reasonable and necessary expenses must be attached to the reimbursement form.

B. Automobile travel shall be reimbursed at the mileage rate set by the IRS. Commercial transportation shall reflect economy fares and shall be reimbursed only for the actual cost of the trip. For out- of-state travel, the rate paid will be the tourist airline fare. If a private car is used for out-of-state travel, the amount paid will be the lesser of the airfare as indicated, or the actual mileage, less miles that would have been traveled to usual place of work, at the approved rates.

C. All contract provisions for expense reimbursements must meet IRS regulations. If there are any contract provisions that appear to be inconsistent with IRS regulations, the expense reimbursed under these provisions will be reported by the district accounting office to the IRS and the employee on the employee's W-2 form.

D. Conference request and expense reimbursement forms must clearly state the type of expenditures incurred and the reason for the expenditure. This information should include: place visited, business or school purpose, function attended, and the actual costs.

IV. Request Procedure

All conference requests from the building level must be approved by the building principal. Requests by district office staff must be approved by their immediate administrative supervisor. Staff Development guidelines must be followed when Staff Development funds are used for travel.

V. Airline Travel Credit

Employees utilizing school district funds to pay for airline travel are required to ensure that any credits or other benefits issued by any airline accrue to the benefit of the school district rather than the employee.

A. To the extent an airline will not honor a transfer or assignment of credit or benefit from the employee to the school district, the employee shall report receipt of the credit or benefit to the designated administrator within 90 days of receipt of the credit or benefit.

B. Reports of the receipt of an airline credit or benefit shall be made in writing and shall include verification from the airline as to the credit or benefit received. Reimbursement for airline travel expenses will not be made until such documentation is provided.

C. Employees who have existing credits or benefits issued by an airline based upon previously reimbursed airline travel for school district purposes will be required to utilize those credits or benefits toward any subsequent airline travel related to school district purposes, prior to reimbursement for such travel, to the extent permitted and/or feasible.

D. The requirements of this section apply to all airline travel, regardless of where or how the tickets are purchased.

VI. Establishment of Directives and Guidelines

A schedule of reimbursement rates for school district business expenses, including those expenses requiring advance approval and specific rates of reimbursement, will be clearly delineated in administrative procedures.

Legal References:
Minn. Stat. § 15.435 (Airline Travel Credit)
Minn. Stat. § 471.665 (Mileage Allowances)
Minn. Op. Atty. Gen. No. 1035 (August 23, 1999) (Retreat Expenses)
Minn. Op. Atty. Gen. No. 161b-12 (August 4, 1997) (Transportation Expenses)
Minn. Op. Atty. Gen. No. 161B-12 (January 24, 1989) (Operating Expenses of Car)

Cross References: 
WBLASB Policy 214 (Out-of-State Travel by School Board Members)