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Panel examines transportation formula volatility; analysts urge deeper review, short‑term aid for struggling rural districts
Summary
Budget briefers told the House Education Committee that transportation appropriations remain volatile after recent formula changes. Staff recommended an inflation‑adjusted boost and said emergency transportation authority exists to help districts facing shortfalls; analysts urged study of district systems for efficiency as well as formula fixes.
Legislative analysts and the Public Education Department described transportation funding and the effects of recent formula changes during Wednesday’s education budget briefing.
The department noted the transportation appropriation can only be used for to‑and‑from school transportation; districts cannot use that money for extracurricular trips. LESC staff renewed a previous recommendation to restore an inflation‑adjustment to transportation funding: a $5,200,000 recommendation to move the distribution toward its high‑water mark was proposed by LESC staff (an inflation‑adjusted figure reflecting funding peaks in the 2000s). LFC recommended a smaller base adjustment in recognition of new charter schools running their own routes, reducing the near‑term delta between proposals to roughly $2,000,000.
Analysts and committee members explained that removing the density factor from the formula created volatility for small, rural and remote districts. Sonny Liu said prior work shows districts either spend more than the appropriation or adjust services; an LESC transportation study suggested districts spend about 110% of their allocations while an LFC evaluation found the appropriation covered about 90% of costs, underscoring inconsistency across districts.
Committee members representing rural districts described long routes (30+ miles) and one‑student runs that still cost districts for miles driven, noting that enrollment declines do not eliminate fixed route costs. Presenters said the department has authority to deploy emergency transportation funding to districts with acute shortfalls and encouraged a mix of near‑term aid and longer‑term formula study.
Lawmakers asked for continued modeling and district‑level analysis. Staff said they will return with more detailed impact and distribution information at the next meeting.
