School districts in the state spent an average of $1,100 per student on yellow-bus service in 2010 — the most of any state, and 140 percent above the national average, an analysis has found.
New York City spent $1,033 per pupil that year, while second-place New Jersey spent $908 per student on transportation.
The analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission attributed the high costs not only to the fact that New York buses a relatively high percentage of kids, but also to a complex state-funding formula that gives districts few incentives to limit spending.
In fact, the state gives most school districts six ways to calculate their reimbursement rates, which allows many to claim the maximum of 90 percent.
“If you’re spending someone else’s money and you get 90 cents on the dollar paid for, you don’t have much incentive to cut costs,” said Elizabeth Lynam, the CBC’s director of state studies.
“If districts got less money, they’d probably figure out ways to tighten their belts.”
She added that the funding rules have been tweaked so often over the years that the initial intent of giving larger returns to high-poverty districts no longer holds true.
One of those tweaks keeps the city at a lowly 55 percent reimbursement rate, which otherwise would be set at 60 percent — a difference of $47 million, the analysis found.
Gov. Cuomo’s office did not respond to a request for comment. City Department of Education officials said they were still reviewing the report.