A STUDY OF SELECTED COSTS OF PUBLIC SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION IN INDIANA

Purpose of the Study. The purposes of the study were to determine which type of bus ownership in Indiana school corporations was most economical and to compare differences in cost per mile, transportation tax rate, and state distribution per mile for a three-year period in all Indiana school corporations' transportation services.;Results. The analysis of the data led to the following conclusions concerning the seven research questions: (1) Public/private ownership had the lowest average cost per mile for the 1981-82 school year. (2) Since the enactment of the transportation tax rate in 1980, average cost per mile among school corporations grouped to wealth has risen twenty-five percent. (3) Since the enactment of the transportation tax rate in 1980, average cost per mile among school corporations grouped to number of pupils transported and linear density has risen twenty-six percent. (4) Since the enactment of the transportation tax rate in 1980, average transportation tax rates among school corporations grouped to wealth has not risen. (5) Since the enactment of the transportation tax rate in 1980, average transportation tax rate among school corporations grouped to number of pupils transported and linear density has risen two percent. (6) Since the enactment of the transportation tax rate in 1980, average state distribution per mile among school corporations grouped to wealth has risen nineteen percent. (7) Since the enactment of the transportation tax rate in 1980, average state distribution per mile among school corporations grouped to number of pupils transported and linear density has risen seventeen percent.;Procedure. The data for all Indiana school corporations were obtained from the 1979-80, 1980-81, and 1981-82 editions of the Report of Statistical Information for Indiana School Corporations and the Indiana Farm Bureau's School Statistical Report. Means were used to compare differences in the criterion variables.