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General Policy. All personnel traveling under these procedures are expected to exercise prudent respons-ibility when committing school department funds. Travel on business should be conducted at minimum cost for achieving the success of the mission. The traveler is expected to exercise the same care in incurring travel expenses that a prudent person would exercise if traveling at his/her own expense.

General Regulations. The school department's goals are to allow travel arrangements that (1) conserve public funds, (2) provide equitable treatment of all personnel, and (3) allow travel in a manner that is dignified and reflects credit on the South Kingstown School Department. These regulations are applicable for all expenses incurred on behalf of the South Kingstown School Department by employees. Where these regulations do not adequately cover a travel situation, the Superintendent of Schools may authorize exceptions.

Decisions as to which trips will be authorized are generally made through the annual budget process. In general, no more than one national and one state conference outside the Rhode Island area will be authorized in any fiscal year. Attendance at other meetings may be authorized when the employee is an active participant in the national and/or state organization. The Superintendent of Schools must approve all travel requests in advance. Attendance at various local professional and technical conferences and meetings will be authorized as funds and time permit. Good judgment and proper regard for economy are expected in incurring travel expenses on behalf of the school department.

Conference Approval and Registration Fees. Approval for professional conferences or training programs must be submitted to the Superintendent of Schools on a Conference Approval Form (CAF). A descriptive brochure outlining the conference starting and finishing times and dates, must be submitted with the CAF. Also required with the CAF is a listing of hotels available and the applicable fee schedules. It is the employee's responsibility to submit the required information to the superintendent's office no later than three (3) weeks prior to any early registration deadline. The school department will only pay for registration fees on an early registration discount basis. If the employee does not file the request on a timely basis, he/she will be responsible for any cost difference in registration fees.

Travel Expense Report. Within five (5) days after returning from the trip, a Travel Expense Report must be forwarded to the Business Office along with any unused portion of the travel advance. Required receipts should be attached to the travel expense report. If actual expense exceeds travel advance, the excess will be paid as soon as the expense report has been audited for compliance with this policy.

Use of Commercial Carrier. Commercial carrier fares will be limited to "coach" or "economy" fares when such services are available. The employee is responsible for booking commercial carrier reservations immediately following the approval of the CAF. The school department will either reimburse the employee for the cost of the tickets or pay the travel agency directly, based upon receiving the proper invoice for the tickets. Any compensation or free airline tickets received for being "bumped" from a scheduled flight shall be equally shared by the employee and the school department. Travel to and from stations and airports may be by bus, limousine or private vehicle (for which mileage will be paid), whichever is least costly. Receipts for transportation costs are required.

Travel Time Exceeding One Day. Employees should not drive to meetings and conferences when the travel time enroute to the destination requires more than one day. In such instances, no reimbursement will be made for any lodging, meals or other expenses incurred enroute, unless prior approval is received from the superintendent.

Lodging. Hotel or motel reservations are expected to be made well in advance to that lodging is secured at moderate rates. The employee is entitled to a hotel allowance equal to the least expensive single room rate at the hotel which is serving as the conference headquarters. If no such designation is made, the allowance will be equal to the single room rate of the hotel closest to the convention center building. Receipts for lodging are required. Reimbursement of lodging will be limited to the minimum number of nights required to conduct school department business. If a conference, for example, opens on Sunday evening and closes Thursday at noon, reimbursement for Sunday through Wednesday night would be allowed. If an employee chooses to arrive earlier or stay later, the additional lodging and other expenses related to this decision are personal expenses and will not be reimbursed. There may be instances in which significant savings in travel expenses may be achieved by taking advantage of discount fares requiring an additional night's stay. Prior authorization by the superintendent will be required to utilize this arrangement. Costs of both lodging and travel along with anticipated airfare savings will be provided with authorization request. No lodging expense will be reimbursed for meetings or conferences held in the Rhode Island area unless prior approval is obtained from the superintendent.

Meals and Miscellaneous Expenses. The school department shall reimburse on a per diem basis expenses incurred while on approved travel leave. The per diem rate shall be $30.00 per day or the U.S. Government approved per diem rate for the city/area lodging is secured, whichever is greater All costs in excess of the per diem shall be non_reimbursed without the express approval of the superintendent prior to the incurring of the expense. The per diem shall be for all out_of_pocket expenses including food, professional association banquets and gatherings, intraconference transportation, and service gratuities. Per diem allowances will be reduced by meals provided through the conference package.

Travel Advance. A travel advance not to exceed the estimated lodging and per diem costs of the trip, may be secured by use of the CAF. In order to secure funds in time for the conference, the request must be submitted to the Business Office three (3) weeks prior to the confer-ence date.

If the city/area falls under a greater reimbursement amount as listed in the U.S. Government per diem schedule, the higher amounts apply. Receipts for the actual cost of the meal must accompany the request for reimbursement. The school department will pay the actual cost of the meal up to the maximum federal limits. Costs in excess of the stated limits shall be the responsi-bility of the employee.