Free Money: The DISD Travel Per-Diem Database

Introducing DISD's database of walking around money.

When DISD employees travel, in addition to paying for airfare, hotel, transportation, mileage and many other expenses, employees are given cash handouts called travel per-diems.

This money is intended to be used for defraying personal expenses (such as personal meals) and, if not completely used, the remainder can be pocketed by the employee. Unlike other districts, DISD maintains no accounting as to how the money is spent or what it is spent on.

Travel per-diems cost taxpayers almost $1 Million dollars over the 2006 and 2007 school year ($959,770.38 to be exact).

Here's how it works: an employee takes a 2-day trip in Texas. He or she calls the travel office to make the arrangements. The travel office buys the airline tickets, advances payment on the hotel and hands the employee $72 in cash (2 days at $36 a day for in-Texas travel). Per-diems are calculated based on the destination and can exceed $100-a-day depending on where the employee is traveling.

That's it!

With no receipts to worry about, the employee can spend the money on whatever he or she pleases: in-room movies, alcohol, cigars--anything (yes, we have travel reports that show employees doing all of this--but that is the subject of another story).

Other school districts, Birdville ISD for example, impose per-diems (limits) but require spenders to submit receipts and give the excess back to the school district.

But in DISD, it is free money! Now Dallas.Org readers can search through the database and see who is getting paid travel per-diems and how much they're getting.

Step 1: Register for an account (if you haven't already)

Step 2: Click here to visit the DISD Travel Per-Diem Database