SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The State of Illinois is supposed to be reimbursing local school districts for most of their costs getting kids to school every day, outside of to some field trips and extra-curricular activities.

Steve Miller, Springfield Public Schools Director of Business, Finance & Operations says, though, they don’t, and it’s probably going to get worse.

“School code states that school districts will be reimbursed at 80 percent of reimbursable expenditures.  We do not get 80 percent,” said Miller.  “Many years, this 80 percent has been prorated.  In FY ’26…(regular education costs)…was prorated down to 72 percent, and 60 percent for special ed.  Whatever we spent in special ed, we were supposed to get 80 percent back, but we really got 60 percent back.”

Miller says there have been rumors that number may go down to 56 percent, which would do no favors to a district that has to clear up an estimated $8 million deficit in the next year.  He says the proration could make the deficit larger.

Nevertheless, the district is required to provide bus service — which, this year, is for an estimated 6,800 students a day, not counting to field trips and to extra-curricular activities.  While the district, at last check, had an on-time rate of 90 percent toward a goal of 97 percent, that’s made all the more difficult with the fact provider First Student doesn’t have enough drivers.

“First Student runs about 174 buses.  Currently, we have 166 drivers.  If you do that math, you will know that those two numbers do not add to be each other,” said Miller.  “We have 109 monitors.  If you look at the 174 and 166, we do not have enough drivers to cover all of our routes at this time.”

Miller says First Student office staff will often cover routes, and drivers and buses, in some cases, will also do more than one route in a day.

More information about becoming a First Student driver can be found by CLICKING HERE.