Policy 717-R Expense Reimbursement Regulations

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

Responsibility for compliance with this procedure is three-fold:

A. The employee submitting the request for reimbursement is responsible for assuring that a public purpose was fulfilled and for providing adequate documentation as required in this procedure.

B. The supervisor who approves an employee’s reimbursement request is responsible for assuring that the expenditure serves a public purpose and that proper documentation is in place.

C. The Finance Department is responsible for assuring that the reimbursement form is properly completed and that the proper supervisory signature is in place.

Employees of Wayzata Public School will be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred during the regular course of district business.

A. Requests for mileage and expense reimbursements must be on the official school district form (available on the staff intranet) and are to be submitted to the employee’s supervisor for approval.

a. Employee Mileage Reimbursement Form

b. Employee Reimbursement Form - supporting itemized receipts must be included for all expense reimbursements.

B. Employees must submit mileage and expense reimbursements within 60 days from when the expense incurred.

C. An expense reimbursement is not to be used as an alternative to the normal district purchasing process which includes District purchase orders and purchase cards (p-cards). Exceptions to the normal purchasing process include:

a. Travel and conferences when the employee does not have a district p-card

b. Emergency purchases for which the normal purchasing process is not timely

D. All shipped purchases must be sent to a district school building. Shipping to a personal address is prohibited. A delivery receipt must be included for all shipped purchases.

A. MILEAGE - Reimbursement for use of personal vehicles shall be limited to the mileage rate established by the Internal Revenue Service. Employee Mileage Reimbursement Forms can be found on the staff intranet

a. Travel is reimbursed from the employee’s regular job location to the employee’s temporary work location.

b. If an employee is required to travel within the workday, mileage will be reimbursed between each district work location.

c. Commuting expenses between an employee’s residence and primary work location are not reimbursable.

d. Reimbursement is allowed for travel to and from school district meetings, conference locations, and the airport.

B. TRANSPORTATION - Employees may choose their own mode of travel, however the reimbursement will be limited to the actual amount expended.

a. Reimbursement for commercial airfare shall be at the lowest rate available for assigned seating that allows for changes to the original ticket

b. Parking expenses incurred in conjunction with an approved activity will be reimbursed at the actual cost of parking. A receipt is required.

c. The district will reimburse the cost of one checked bag.

d. Complimentary hotel transportation should be used whenever possible. When such services are not available, reimbursement will be allowed for public transportation, taxi, Uber, Lyft, etc. to and from airports, and between places of lodging and the conference site.

e. The cost of leasing/renting a vehicle will not be reimbursed unless commercial transportation is unavailable, or not cost effective.

C. REGISTRATIONS

a. The District will reimburse up to the full cost of registration for the employee to attend a conference, convention, or meeting.

b. The District will not reimburse for entertainment or recreation costs that are either part of or separate from the conference, workshop, or seminar.

D. MEALS - Reimbursement will be based upon actual expenditures. Itemized receipts are required and are limited by the following:

a. The maximum reimbursement for meals per employee (which is meant to include the cost of the meal itself, tax and tip) is as follows: a maximum of $74 per day; or for partial days $18 for breakfast, $20 for lunch, and $36 for dinner.

b. Alcohol is never reimbursable.

c. When meals are provided as part of the conference, no separate reimbursement will be allowed.

d. For local conferences where no meals are provided, reimbursement is limited to lunch.

e. For travel when overnight/air travel is involved, allowable meal reimbursement begins when the employee arrives at their destination and ends when they leave their destination.

f. Snacks, coffee, bottled water soda, etc. are only reimbursable when purchased as part of a meal.

g. The district will reimburse a maximum 20% tip.

E. LODGING - Employees are advised to select lodging as reasonable in cost as consistent with comfort, safety, and convenience, and within budgetary allocations.

a. Hotel and other lodging expenses are limited to the single rate for the accommodations selected.

b. When a room is occupied by more than one person, the reimbursement will be limited to the lower of the single rate for that room or the cost actually incurred by the employee.

c. Reimbursement is limited to lodging for the event itself. Additional time spent on lodging is the responsibility of the employee.

d. Lodging in the Twin Cities will be reimbursed only when the employee is supervising students as part of an approved activity.

F. SALES TAX - Employees will not be reimbursed for sales tax on purchases where the district is exempt from tax.

A. Meals and refreshments for meetings are discouraged. Meals must not be provided at district expense at meetings for employees unless the meeting of necessity takes place over a mealtime due to conflicting schedules or a need to include students or members of the public. If the meeting must take place over a mealtime or there is a need to include non-district employees, documentation must be provided as follows:

a. Meeting agenda
b. List of attendees
c. The reason for meeting during mealtimes

B. Light refreshments may be provided at district expense at a meeting only if one of the following criteria is met:

a) Students or members of the public are invited; or
b) the meeting occurs over a mealtime; or
c) the duration of the meeting is expected to substantially exceed 2 hours.

District funds will not be used if the expenditure does not serve a public purpose. An expenditure serves a public purpose if it benefits the community as a whole, is directly related to the functions of the school district, and does not have as its primary objective the benefit of a private interest. The following expenditures will not be reimbursed:

1. Food, gifts or decorations for celebrations of birthdays, holidays, retirements, or accomplishments, except meals and gifts for qualifying employees at an annual School District recognition event are considered to have a public purpose and to be part of the district’s compensation package for employees, and may be reimbursed or otherwise purchased with District monies;

2. Food or gifts for employees as a reward for a job well done;

3. Gifts, cards, or flowers in cases of illness or bereavement; and

4. Entertainment expenses for employees, unless the employee’s expense is occasioned by the employee accompanying students at a bona fide student activity, such as attendance at a play.

5. Gift Cards are considered to be “money” and are NOT acceptable expenses to be reimbursed.

• Adopted: September 9, 1985
• Amended: November 6, 1987
• Amended: July 10, 1989
• Amended: March 18, 1999
• Amended: January 13, 2003
• Amended: February 14, 2005
• Amended: November 13, 2006
• Amended: June 13, 2016
• Last Reviewed: December 8, 2023

• Policy 717 - Expense Reimbursement