WEST VIRGINIA

STATE FUNDS.-The expense of transporting pupils to and from school is an item considered in computing the cost of the foundation education program in which the State shares and guarantees. The following factors are listed in the State law for consideration by State officials when measuring pupil transportation needs: (1) Number of elementary pupils transported; (2) number of high-school pupils transported; (3) length of bus routes; (4) condition of school buses and transportation equipment; (5) average size of bus needed; (6) condition of roads traveled; and (7) number of schools to which pupils are transported. From these factors the following formula. has been made for computing transportation costs: "The bus load not to exceed 54 pupils divided by 40, times the length of the bus route, times 2, times the road factor, times .1 (each bus computed separately), times the number of days school was in session, plus the number of pupils transported by public carriers (and paid in lieu of providing transportation for them), times 12.75." In the foregoing formula, the road factors are: Hard surface, 1.3; gravel, 1.8; and dirt, 3.5. The .1 indicates 10 cents per mile. (School Law of West Virginia, 1943, art. 9-a, sec. 9)

COUNTY FUNDS.-(The county is the unit for school administration in West Virginia.) The county board of education is authorized to provide transportation at the county's expense for all children of school age who reside more than 2 miles from school. (School Laws of West Virginia, 1943, art. 5, sec. 13)

WISCONSIN

STATE FUNDS.-State funds are used to reimburse school districts at specified rates for the expense of approved school transportation or board and lodging of pupils in lieu of transportation. The reimbursement is at the rate of 10 cents per day for each child legally transported to and from school at least 120 days during the school year. In addition to such reimbursement, any school district which suspends school and pays tuition and provides for transporting its children residing more than 2 miles from school, to school in another district is entitled to $100 reimbursement from the State. If a district pays for the board and lodging of its children not more than a mile from the school, in lieu of transporting them, it is entitled to reimbursement from the State for such expense at the rate of $1 per week of 5 days for each child so boarded and lodged. Reimbursement for the expense of transporting crippled children to school is computed on the same basis as is that for normal children. (Laws of Wisconsin Relating to Education, 1942, sec. 40.34 (1), (2), (4), (1m)) COUNTY FUNDS.-None provided.

LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT FUNDS.-The school board of any district shall provide transportation for all children of school age within the district when properly authorized by vote of the electors. The board in a consolidated school district or any district which has voted to close its schools shall provide transportation for pupils residing more than 2 miles from school. In common-school districts, the distance for which pupil transportation shall be provided is any distance more than 21⁄2 miles and in union high-school districts such distance is more than 4 miles. If parents provide transportation for their own children, the district is required to pay them for such service at the rate of 20 cents per day for the first child and 10 cents per day for each child transported not less than 120 days during the school year and for the distances indicated in the preceding sentence. Children residing more than 21⁄2 miles from school may be boarded and lodged within 1 mile of school and for such expense parents are entitled to pay at the rate of $2 per week. Crippled children may be transported to school at the district's expense irrespective of distance. (Laws of Wisconsin Relating to Education, 1942, secs. 40.31 and 40.34 (5a))

WYOMING

STATE FUNDS. Funds received by the State of Wyoming from the Federal Government as proceeds from leases and royalties from mineral-producing lands in the public domain in that State are distributed in part to the several counties on the basis of the number of teachers and drivers of school transportation vehicles. Any driver to be counted for this purpose is one who transports at least 8 pupils daily in such a vehicle when schools are in session over a route the total length of which is not less than 8 miles. Also the expense, not to exceed $10 per pupil per month, of transporting pupils to and from school or of paying their board and lodging in lieu of transporting them and an amount equal to one-fifth of the cost of school busses each year are included when computing the cost of the school program which the State equalizes. (School Laws of Wyoming 1937, secs. 267 and 368 and Session Laws of Wyoming 1939 as Amended in 1941, ch. 69)

COUNTY FUNDS.-General property taxes are levied annually in each county sufficient to raise $300 per teacher and school bus driver; this is the maximum amount which may be paid by the county and, in raising funds for the purpose, the county tax levy may not exceed 3 mills on the dollar of the assessed valuation taxable within the county. (School Laws of Wyoming 1937, sec. 276)

LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT FUNDS.-The board of education of any school district may provide transportation at the district's expense for the pupils thereof or pay for their board and lodging near the

school in lieu of transporting them to school, when authorized by the electors of the district and when such items of expense are properly budgeted showing a saving as a result of the transportation, but the cost may not exceed $10 per pupil per month. When approved by a board established for reviewing school transportation costs, the monthly expense per pupil may exceed the $10. (School Laws of Wyoming 1937, sec. 184.)

EVALUATION OF STATE PROVISIONS FOR FINANCING PUPIL TRANSPORTATION

The part of the questionnaire regarding evaluation of State plans for financing pupil transportation was designed with a view of formulating criteria for appraising such plans. Directions preceding the 11 questions on evaluation were as follows:

A tentative draft of criteria for evaluating State programs for financing pupil transportation is submitted below. After careful study of these criteria please recommend any additional ones which should be added to the list and suggest any desirable modifications of the ones listed.

Only 4 replies contained any criticism of or suggestions concerning the criteria listed on the questionnaire; 3 of these merely stated in effect that the criteria as submitted appeared satisfactory. The other one added 1 question to the list of 11; it follows:

Does the general plan for State support of education provide for separate calculation of aid for school transportation; or, if not a separate calculation, is the financial need of the local unit so computed that it is affected by amount of transportation service rendered by local unit?

The same critic who suggested the foregoing additional question also made the following suggestion:

Taking into consideration the tentative criteria listed under B and the suggested changes, prepare a statement as to how the State plan for financing transportation conforms or fails to conform to each criteria. Emphasize both the strong and the weak points of your plan, suggest any changes in the plan which you think desirable, and indicate reasons why the proposed changes should be made.

Although the directions regarding the evaluation of State plans did not include a request that those responding to the questionnaire apply the criteria to their respective plans, they were so applied in 20 States. Since the answers given on the replies from these 20 States are interesting and pertinent to this report, they are summarized here.

The 11 questions were worded, it was thought, so that they could be answered in most cases at least by "Yes" or "No." If the answer were “Yes,” it implied satisfactory provision and if answered “No,” it implied the opposite. Qualified answers are explained in footnotes in the accompanying tabulation. In a number of instances no answers

were given to some of the questions. The answer is "Yes" more frequently than "No" on the replies from 11 States, but the opposite is true on those from 5 States. Replies from 2 States have the answers about evenly divided, while those from the remaining 2 States have only 1 or 2 questions answered either way. Details of the answers are summarized in the following paragraphs.

Adequacy and use of funds.-The answers indicate that sufficient funds for pupil transportation service are provided in 12 of the 20 States which answered this question. In 13 of the 20, State funds. are so distributed as to reimburse local school districts for the expense of this service. On the other hand, the answers indicate that in 7 of these 20 States, insufficient funds are provided, and that in 5 of them local school districts are not reimbursed for such expense. One reply had no answer to the first question and 2 had no answer to the second question on evaluation.

Provisions for funds for capital outlays and means of raising such funds.-Plans in 11 of the 20 States seem to include at least some provision for funds from the State for capital outlays in connection with pupil transportation services; 5 State plans are reported to have no such provision, while in 1 State the service is maintained entirely on a contract basis which requires no expense for the purchase or repair of school busses. In 11 of the States there is definite, or at least some, provision for extending payments for school busses and other articles of school transportation equipment beyond the current year, but in 4 of them there is no provision of this kind. Three of the replies have no answer to the first of these 2 questions and 4 have none to the second.

Promotion of safety, efficiency, and economy of operation.-Provisions for financing pupil transportation in 11 of the 20 States, according to the replies, promote safety, efficiency, and economy of operation of the transportation system, while such provisions in 6 of the 20 do not. No information is given on this question on the replies from 3 of the 20 States.

Provisions for making necessary adjustments.-There are legal provisions in 13 of the 20 States which permit of making adjustment in the arrangement for financing pupil transportation service in case consolidation, fire, or other change takes place in a school district making such adjustment desirable. In 5 of them, there is no such provision. Two replies have no answer to this question.

Adequate accounting.-Adequate accounting of the financial transactions of pupil transportation is required in 13 of the 20 States, but it is not required in 4 of them, according to the answers to question number 7 on evaluation. No information is given on replies from 3 of the 20 States regarding such requirement.

Consideration of factors influencing pupil transportation costs.— In 10 of the 20 States, some consideration is given in the provisions for financing pupil transportation service to such factors beyond the control of local school districts as variation in,number of pupils to be transported from a given area, road conditions, and the like; in 7 of them, no such consideration appears to be given to such factors. Three replies include no information on this question.

Boarding pupils in lieu of transportation.—There are provisions in the laws of 12 of the 20 States for paying board and lodging of pupils, under certain conditions, near the school in lieu of transportation; in 7 States there is no such provision. One reply has no answer to this question.

Stimulation of desirable reorganization.-Of 18 answers to the question as to whether or not the State's provisions for financing pupil transportation service stimulates desirable reorganization of local school administrative and attendance areas, 11 are in the affirmative and 7 in the negative. In other words, the plans for financing pupil transportation service, in the judgment of the officials replying to this question, are such that they help in bringing about improvement in school district organization in 11 of the 20 States, but do not help in this respect in 7 of them. Two of the 20 replies do not include an answer to this question.

Methods of distributing State aid for pupil transportation.-Eighteen answers are given to the question, "Does the plan of financing pupil transportation provide for the distribution of aid upon the basis of an objective formula?" Of these 18, 8 answered in the affirmative, 8 in the negative, 1 reported that all pupils in need of transportation are provided with such service, and 1 reported that transportation is simply included as an item of expense in the equalization plan. Two of the 20 replies on evaluation have no answer to this question.