Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) requires a uniform method for districts to employ allocating and reporting all athletic expenditures. Some district expenditures relate to multiple programs and/or functions and the amount pertaining to each program and/or function must be estimated by the use of an allocation method. The following allocation method pertains to calculating athletic transportation expenses.
Transportation - Multiply bus miles pertaining to athletics by the statewide average cost per mile. The rate for the 2008/2009 school year is based on 2007/2008 expenditures and route miles and equals $3.42 per mile. Act 255 of 2007 defines athletic transportation as “Travel, including bus-related operation and maintenance, to and from any Interschool Athletic Program event for students, faculty, spirit groups, band, or patrons of the school district. This amount includes the salaries and benefits of bus drivers. In some cases, a bus for an athletic event may be driven by a volunteer or by a coach who receives a coaching stipend that includes driving buses for athletic events. If the bus driver is not compensated for the athletic trip, or if the compensation is included in a stipend already charged to athletics, the rate of $1.97 per mile should be applied.
The method of calculating the rate this year excluded program codes 115 and 116 and added Fund 3. Route miles do not include athletic and extracurricular trips; and therefore, should not be included in expenditures when calculating the cost per mile. If the calculation had remained the same, the rate would have increased by about 5% (3.56 to 3.74 = 5%). Fuel cost increased by 35%; but fuel is only 15% of the total transportation cost 35%x15%=5%).