BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Brunswick County schools received an 89 percent transportation efficiency rating for 2012, that's down from a perfect rating in 2011.
According to a Brunswick County spokesperson, every school system has a transportation efficiency rating. The rating factors the number of students transported, the number of buses operated, and the overall budget needed to fund the department for one year.
The state uses the efficiency rate to determine how much of the
transportation costs it will pay for. Since the rate in Brunswick County
is 89 percent, it will be reimbursed for that portion of transportation
costs.
The county must pay for the remaining 11 percent of transportation costs, which comes to about $1 million in taxpayer money.
When WECT started asking questions about the reduced rating, officials mentioned the transportation changes. In 2011, the school board in Brunswick County voted in support of a staggered schedule, but in 2012 they voted to return to the single start.
School officials are just beginning to tackle the shortfall, so they didn't want to comment much on it at this point. They are expected to start talking about the issue in the next couple weeks.
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