In accordance with the District Regulation CFD, discretion must be exercised when purchasing food items. Article III, Section 51 of the Texas State Constitution and the Local Government Code prohibit school districts from making a gift of public funds to any individual or entity. The food purchased and the purpose for which it is intended could at times be perceived as a gift of public funds. For that reason, purchases of meals, snacks and other food items are treated differently depending on the types of funds used to purchase the items.
Meals provided to staff during non-travel events such as meetings and professional development are excluded from taxable wages if they are served only when work is conducted during the meal time and/or when a reasonable eating schedule is interrupted and the working meeting extends
through the meal time and will not adjourn until after a reasonable time for eating has elapsed.
The meeting and/or training agenda, sign-in sheet or list of attendees, and business purpose for
providing the meal must be submitted as support for the expense.
Candy should NOT be purchased with district funds. Nutritional snacks will qualify if they comply with the meal regulation. Candy or non-nutritional snacks may be purchased with personal funds.
Food of any kind (snacks, beverages, meals, and so on) may NOT be purchased with grant funds.
If unallowable food/snacks are purchased, the purchaser will need to reimburse the district.
District funds should be used primarily for food purchased for staff development, testing, or a campus wide recognition in a way that would be determined to favorably impact academic performance.
It is important to note that District and Campus Activity Funds are considered public funds, so discretion should be used when spending these monies.
Under no circumstances should these funds be used for staff birthdays, wedding/baby showers, gift certificates, etc.
Student Activity Funds (Fund 865)
Purchases of food may be made from these funds without limit if the purchase is for the benefit of the student group and has been approved by the officers of the student group that raised the funds.
Staff Hospitality Funds
As the monies in this fund have all been contributed by the staff, purchases of food may be made from these funds without limit.
Expenditures for staff birthdays, wedding/baby showers, snacks for teacher’s lounges, etc., may be made from this fund.
Purchases made from these funds may not take advantage of the district’s vendor discounts or tax-exempt status.
