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Lawmakers press presenters on school transportation shortfalls, formula volatility
Summary
Committee members raised persistent concerns about adequacy and volatility in the school transportation formula; analysts described past studies showing districts often redirect general funds to cover bus costs and recommended continued study of density and local delivery models.
Legislators at the House Education budget briefing pressed analysts and the Public Education Department on whether current transportation funding is adequate to cover districts’ costs, particularly in rural areas where routes are long and student counts per route are low.
Representatives said some districts repeatedly dip into operational funds to pay for to‑and‑from transportation; presenters said the underlying formula and district practices create volatility that has made it difficult to guarantee adequacy across all systems.
Why it matters: transportation is a line‑item categorical appropriation that must be used for daily student transport; shortfalls force districts to reallocate operating dollars and can affect services for students and families.
Key points - Past studies: staff said a prior LESC transportation study found districts were effectively covering roughly 10% of transportation costs from non‑transportation funds (operational budgets). A more recent LFC evaluation suggested the formula covered about 90% of costs in many districts, but analysts warned that averages hide local variation.
- Adjustment proposals and amounts: committee documents and staff discussion included a LESC recommendation for a $5.2 million inflation‑adjusted addition intended to restore funding closer to a mid‑2000s “high watermark.” LFC included a smaller base adjustment to account for charter schools that now run their own transportation programs, producing about a $2 million difference between recommendations.
- Rural impacts: legislators from rural and geographically large districts told the committee that long routes and low rider counts create costs that don’t scale down when one or a handful of students stop riding school buses. Presenters said a ‘‘density’’‑based formula change can help some districts but can harm others; they urged further review of both formula design and local operational efficiencies.
What presenters said John (LESC staff) told the committee that some of the difficulty stems from using prior‑year spending patterns to set future allocations; when districts change how they provide service, the allocation can become volatile. Sonny Liu (LFC analyst) emphasized the need to study both funding levels and how districts deliver transportation services before finalizing permanent formula changes.
Next steps Analysts recommended continuing technical study, comparing district‑level costs and service models, and examining whether additional state funding should be targeted to districts with long routes and a small number of riders.
Ending Lawmakers said they welcomed the proposals but asked staff for more district‑level modeling before any statutory formula changes are drafted.
