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Board asked staff to return with comparative per‑diem options after proposal to raise employee meal reimbursements
Summary
District staff proposed doubling per‑meal reimbursement amounts now set by Florida statute (breakfast $6, lunch $11, dinner $19) and asked to advertise updated policy to become effective Jan. 1; board asked staff to compare the proposed flat increases with federal GSA per‑diem tiers for travel and return with a clarified travel SOP and budgetary
District staff presented a proposed revision to travel policy 7‑16 that would increase employee meal reimbursement amounts to better reflect current prices and reduce out‑of‑pocket costs for staff who travel for professional learning.
The proposed change doubles the statute‑listed amounts that have not been updated in decades. District staff summarized the draft change as: breakfast from $6 to $12, lunch from $11 to $22, and dinner from $19 to $38, effective Jan. 1. Staff said the policy also references an $80 per‑day actual per‑diem in the statute for full‑day travel and explained how the policy would apply if meals are provided by a conference or included at a hotel.
Board members asked staff to research whether using the federal General Services Administration (GSA) per‑diem tiers — which vary by location and range (e.g., $59–$79 for meals and incidental expenses in FY24 for some locations) — would be a better administrative approach for out‑of‑state travel or higher‑cost Florida destinations, and how administrative complexity would change. Staff said most district travel is in‑state and that GSA tiers may be administratively heavier but agreed to return with a comparison and a proposed travel standard operating procedure (SOP) explaining per‑diem calculations and receipts handling.
Finance staff noted travel reimbursements have been modest historically (roughly $5,500 total in FY23–24) and that the proposed increases would raise the projected annual travel reimbursement to $10–$12K, which staff said the current budget could absorb. The board asked staff to bring back GSA‑comparison data, clearer language about per‑diem rules (for example, how a hotel breakfast affects reimbursement), and a budget update at the next meeting prior to final adoption; staff agreed to return with that information.
