Pa. Fails To Cover Cost of Busing Private Students, Study Finds

Pennsylvania requires school districts to bus private school students but falls short in helping pay the $132 million in yearly costs, a study contends.

State funding has increased in recent years to cover 44 percent of private school transportation costs, according to the study of 204 districts by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. But it found that local districts still pay $73 million each year to bus an estimated 206,000 of the state's 335,000 private school students, often to neighboring states.

Since its release this month, the 18-page report has put reform-minded lawmakers on a collision course with private school advocates, who do not want bus services...