Travel and Expenses

It is the policy of the Oologah-Talala Board of Education that official school travel for board members must be approved in advance by the board and travel for employees will be approved in advance by the building administrator or the superintendent. Requests and arrangements for employee travel will originate from the appropriate building administrator's office. Travel requests will be made as early as possible and placed on the building calendar as well as the master calendar. Emergency travel will be placed on the respective calendars as soon as possible following the travel or notification of the emergency. The district will not pay for any board member or employee dependent-care expenses regardless of whether the funding source is federal, state, or local funding.

Oologah-Talala Public Schools will be using a per diem to pay for meal expenses instead of reimbursement beginning the 2022-2023 school year. Per diem for meals are paid for travel that includes an overnight stay. The per diem rate is $55.00 per meeting days that involve no travel. The per diem is $41.25 per day for travel days. All receipts from employees must be received to show that funds are actually being used on meals. If the employee does not provide receipts, the entire amount of the per diem will need to be reflected as taxable compensation on the employee’s W2.

If overnight travel is not involved and/or a meal is not provided as part of a workshop or part of a legitimate business meeting relating to school business, reimbursement for meals will be reported as taxable compensation and run through payroll.

Expenses for registration, parking, toll charges, and similar expenses will be reimbursed when documented by receipts or notarized affidavits. The superintendent or building principal will approve an employee as the driver prior to the trip, if students are involved with the trip itself. This process will involve reviewing whether a drivers’ license is current.

School vehicles, when available, may be used for official business only. Private vehicles may be used when school vehicles are not available. Mileage expenses will be reimbursed at the standard IRS mileage rate when a school gasoline credit card is not used.

Claim forms for travel expenses are available in the building administrator's office. The forms will be completed and approved in the respective building and hand-delivered to the business office for payment.

Legal Citations

The qualifications and procedures outlined in this policy are based upon the following:

• 70 O.S. §5-117
• 2 C.F.R. 200.432 and 200.474