Teacher Travel Expenses

Step 2

Teacher and chaperone travel expenses cannot be paid by your school bookkeeper any longer.

All travel expenses for a teacher must be paid by P-Card unless the state is not set up for this.

If more than one teacher is going on the trip in your department, please designate one teacher to handle all the P Card paperwork. The teacher will need to save all original receipts, and his signature will need to be on each receipt.

Reimbursements to the teachers for their meals and mileage, parking and other incidentals can be given after the teacher returns from the trip.

All charges must be tax exempt; however, we will pay the occupancy tax. We currently have tax exempt certificates in Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Florida. Copies of these exemption certificates are on file in the District Office as well as your CTE Secretary’s office.

Authorization Forms

Prior to using your P Card for travel expenses, you will need to complete a P-Card Authorization Form with the following information attached:

·  Registration fees for teacher and or chaperones, (list names)

·  Hotel reservations/rooms for the teachers and or chaperones

·  Airline tickets for the teachers and or chaperones

·  Car rentals, mini vans prices. If the amount is over $499, you must get three (3) bids. No charter bus expenses will be approved this school year.

·  Gas for rental vehicles will be paid with your P-Card. Bring back your original gas receipts.

This form will need to be sent by email or courier to the District CTE Secretary with an exact cost (or a close estimate) for everything you will be charging on your P Card. Your credit limit will have to be increased. Your CTE administrator or secretary should have a copy of the CTE P-Card Authorization Form.

As soon as the required information is received and approved, your credit card will be increased. Your new credit card increase and a CTE approval number for the P Card charges will be emailed to the teacher and to the CTE Secretary or assistant principal. The CTE approval number will need to be written on all your P-Card receipts.

Vendors Not Set Up for P Card Purchases

If the company that you are trying to work with does not take the P-Card, then you will need to complete a Disbursement Request and attach the required documentation to it. Each vendor will need its own Disbursement Request and attachments.

When completed, give these forms to your CTE Secretary for the necessary approvals. This documentation will be sent to the District CTE Department for processing. Make sure to do this as soon as possible so that your registration or reservations will not be late.

It usually takes a week to ten days to get a Disbursement Request approved and a check cut. When the District CTE office receives a Disbursement Request from a CTE teacher, it requires three other administrative signatures before it can be processed, and it will need to be in the Finance office at least one day prior to them cutting checks. Checks cannot be released until the day after the check was cut. This change will require advance planning on your part, so that there is not an “emergency” situation that requires a check be written immediately.

If you traveled by public conveyance (plane, train, bus, etc.), you must provide a receipt showing the cost for your travel and your itinerary or boarding pass for that trip.

If you traveled by private conveyance (your automobile) you may claim actual mileage for the miles traveled. Mileage claims should be recorded from the teacher’s school location to the conference. A copy of your mileage calculation by MapQuest (destination to destination) should be provided with your travel claim. If you failed to record the miles, you will be reimbursed for the mileage between cities as provided by state mileage charts. The mileage rate is currently 50 cents per mile.

If it was necessary to rent a car or van, we can only reimburse you for the actual mileage or for the rental of a vehicle and the purchase of fuel. Fuel receipts must be provided and signed for reimbursement. If reimbursement is claimed for a rental vehicle, a receipt showing a “zero” balance is also required. You must pay for your van rentals with your P Card.

If your travel was arranged through a travel agent who handled transportation, lodging, registration and any other expenses, you must provide a copy of all the documentation sent to him/her. This document will only be allowed as a receipt if it is signed by the travel agent and indicates the amount of payment that they received.

You may not pay for gas in your personal vehicle with your P-Card. You can, however, use your P-Card for car and van rentals.

You cannot use your P Card to pay for your meals. Meals will only be reimbursed for overnight travel. If you attend a day-long workshop but return home in the evening, you will not be reimbursed for meals. Reimbursements to the teachers for their mileage, parking and other incidentals can only be processed after the teacher returns from his trip.

A hotel receipt is REQUIRED for all lodging expenses. The receipt must show the individual room rate and the number of nights that you stayed. Your name will need to be listed on the hotel summary sheet. We realize that if you are staying as a member of a group it may be difficult to get a receipt showing your room separately. You may have to ask the hotel for your check out summary in which case you would have a zero balance. We must have proof that you were actually there. If you shared a room with another individual, you will need to identify that person and provide the divided expense of the room that each of you incurred. If, for some reason, you receive a credit balance on your hotel receipt and the check is to be reimbursed to the school, we will need a copy of the receipt showing the school received the refund and made the deposit into your account before we can reimburse the school.

All CTE travel must be sent to your CTE Secretary or Account manager within three business days after your return from your trip. Then it will be forwarded to the District CTE Department for processing.

All receipts must have a “zero” balance.

Financial policy does not allow us to pay for “teacher entertainment” (such as attending baseball

games and Disneyland) even though you may be accompanying students to a conference. These are usually offered as registration options in areas where such amusements are available. You have the option not to go if you do not want to pay for the tickets. Your P-Card cannot be used to pay for your parking at any of these facilities.