Trinity mulls change to job expense policy

By Dawn Goodman
Staff Writer
dgoodman@observer-reporter.com
Trinity Area School Board is debating whether to limit the amount that employees can spend for meals while at conferences.
A proposed change to the job-related expense policy calls for teachers to receive a maximum of $10 for breakfast, $10 for lunch and $15 for dinner. It calls for administrators to have $10 for breakfast, $10 for lunch and $25 for dinner.
Acting Superintendent James Dick suggested that the board not put the exact amount in its policy. Instead, he said at Thursday night’s meeting, that type of information should be in administrative regulations to implement the policy.
“Things are going to change with inflation,” he said. “Are you going to change the policy every year? That’s not what policies are for.”
Assistant Superintendent Yvonne Weaver said there may be times at conferences when meals are more than that amount. She questioned if the board wanted employees who attend conferences to not participate in meals that cost more than the limit. Those who attend conferences must fill out a form explaining their expenses, she said.
Board member Tamara Salvatori said preventing employees from participating in meals at conferences is not the purpose of the policy. She said the issue came up because the board has received receipts for hundreds of dollars with no justification, sometimes related to sports teams.
“When nothing is justified, then you feel it’s time to review, or do you give people leeway and hope they use common sense?” she said. “We have to vouch to the taxpayers and say we’re using money wisely.”
Dick said he asked surrounding districts for forms they use to justify expenses and said he will pass those forms on to the board.
The policy was scheduled for a first reading later this month, but the board tabled it and sent it back to the policy committee for changes.
It was one of several policies scheduled for a first reading later this month. The others are, hiring of athletic coaches/directors/supervisors, sportsmanship, sponsorship and evaluation of the athletic programs, nepotism and physical examination.
Dick said the hiring policy creates an athletic committee for hiring that doesn’t include a board member, unless a head coach is at issue. He said the district already has rules about sportsmanship, but it was not in policy format.
One resident asked whether the revisions would be available to the public. At a meeting in March, board members said they wanted them to be available publicly prior to meetings.
Dick said revised policies and new policies will be available if the board agrees to vote on them later this month at the agenda meeting. Past practice has been to require a written public records request to be approved by the superintentendent before the documents are released.
Board member Dennis McWreath said he doesn’t see how the public can comment on policy revision if they can’t see them. The policy revisions were not available before Thursday’s meeting.
“Why can’t we run a few copies so they can take them home and stew over them?” Salvatori asked.
School board members also were seeing them for the first time Thursday night. Administrators may propose changes that the board doesn’t want, which could create frustration in the community, Interval said.
School board President Tom Bodnovich said he doesn’t want the public to have the perception that the board is trying to hide something.
“There’s got to be a better way here,” he said.

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