Transportation Contracts Preparation and Filing
Consumer Price Index (CPI)Aid for Transportation Contract Expenditures:
Deductions will be made on a contract that is not properly executed until after service has begun, or a contract which is filed with the Educational Management Services Unit more than 120 calendar days after service has begun. The deduction is calculated based on the expenditures for the period prior to the execution of the contract, or on the expenditures in the period between the end of the one hundred twenty-day period and the date of the filing of the contract. Only contract expenditures up to the amount in the contract may be allowed for aid. Any excess expenditures must be deducted in computing transportation expenditures eligible for aid.
Where the contracts contains a provision to do so, the district may provide gasoline for the contractor. In such cases, cost of the gasoline is included in the computation of the above deductions and the gasoline expenditures associated with the contract must be coded in A5540.4 and/or A5581.49 of the ST-3.
A school district that uses computerized bus routing service to establish the routes for a private contractor may include the costs of the computerization in determining aidable expenditures, however, prior approval is required for expenses over $10,000. Computerized bus routing expenditures for a private contractor must be coded in A5540.4 and/or A5581.49 of the ST-3 and claimed on Form F line(s) 125A and/or 125B.
Section 3622-a(6) of the Education Law authorizes the aid for transportation of pupils to and from approved summer school programs operated by a school district in the 2000-01 school year and thereafter. However, the statewide apportionment may not exceed five million dollars.
Parents as Contractors:
A board of education may contract with parents to transport their own children. Such a contract is subject to the competitive bidding requirements of General Municipal Law, but when the parents transport only their own children, the parent is exempt from Section 156.3 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of education. Also, the parent's vehicle is not subject to a school bus inspection by the Department of Transportation. In addition, a parent may request an exemption from Article 19-A of Vehicle and Traffic Law. An exemption from Article 19-A may be granted for a person operating his or her own vehicle with a seating capacity of 10 or fewer adults, where the only payment made to such person is a mileage fee intended to cover the actual cost of such operation. Exemptions may be requested by contacting the Department of Motor Vehicles at (518) 473-9455 or the Bus Driver Certification Unit, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Empire State Plaza, Swan Street Building, Room 220C, Core 2, Albany, New York 12228.
4408 (July/August Programs for Students with Disabilities) Transportation:
Expenditures for these programs should be recorded in the Special Aid Fund of the ST-3, rather than the General Fund. Since districts are reimbursed for these costs based on individual student claims submitted to the STAC Unit, these expenses should not be included on the State Aid claim forms.
Transportation contract forms are available at: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/schoolbus/BusinessOfficial/
Webpage Reviewed by IGH, September, 2022