Question:
What percentage of students are transported at public expense and how much does the public spend on transportation on a per pupil basis?
Response:
In 2005–06, some 55 percent of students in public schools were transported at public expense at a cost of $746 per pupil.
| Public school students transported at public expense and current expenditures for transportation: Selected years, 1980-81 to 2005-06 | ||||||
| School year | Students transported at public expense (number)1 | Students transported at public expense (percent of total) |
Expenditures for transportation (in thousands)1,2
[In unadjusted dollars] |
Average expenditure per student transported1 [In unadjusted dollars] |
Expenditures for transportation (in thousands)1,2
[In constant 2006-07 dollars] |
Average expenditure per student transported1 [In constant 2006-07 dollars] |
| 1980-81 | 22,272,000 | 59.1 | $4,408,000 | $198 | $10,387,767 | $466 |
| 1990-91 | 22,000,000 | 57.3 | 8,678,954 | 394 | 13,229,869 | 601 |
| 1995-96 | 24,155,000 | 58.2 | 10,396,426 | 430 | 13,736,605 | 569 |
| 2000-01 | 24,471,000 | 55.5 | 14,052,654 | 574 | 16,383,848 | 670 |
| 2001-02 | 24,529,000 | 55.0 | 14,799,365 | 603 | 16,954,256 | 691 |
| 2002-03 | 24,621,000 | 54.7 | 15,648,821 | 636 | 17,541,892 | 712 |
| 2003-04 | 25,059,000 | 55.3 | 16,348,784 | 652 | 17,934,183 | 716 |
| 2004-05 | 25,223,000 | 55.3 | 17,459,659 | 692 | 18,593,263 | 737 |
| 2005-06 | 25,286,000 | 55.1 | 18,864,069 | 746 | 19,351,900 | 765 |
1 Estimates based on data appearing in January issues of School Bus Fleet for 1980-81 to 2000-01. Estimates based on data reported by School Transportation News for 2001-02 onward.
2 Excludes capital outlay for years 1990-91 to the latest year. For 1980-81, total transportation figures include capital outlay.
NOTE: Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Digest of Education Statistics, 2008 (NCES 2009-020), Table 175.Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)
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