Committee reviews district‑level spending: operations and maintenance, central office, transportation

Bureau of Legislative Research staff presented the district‑level resource allocation report covering operations and maintenance (O&M), central office functions and transportation.

Laurie Bowen told the committee O&M accounted for about $741 per student in the matrix and that districts spent roughly $715 million on O&M in FY2023; BLR calculated that statewide staffing for recommended custodial and maintenance positions met about 71% of the recommended level based on facility square footage. Bowen also noted that Arkansas statute requires districts to spend at least 9% of foundation funding on O&M and that Arkansas’s O&M share roughly matched that standard for the year presented.

On central office funding, BLR reported the matrix provided a central‑office rate (about $457 per student) and showed average superintendent salaries (statewide average roughly $130,005; highest reported $289,644 in Fayetteville; lowest reported $58,589 in Shirley). BLR staff said central office spending is driven primarily by certified and classified salaries and benefits and emphasized variation by district size and region.

For transportation, BLR described Arkansas’s flat per‑student transportation rate ($321 per student, ~$151M in foundation funding) and noted national comparisons. Staff also summarized Act 237 (2023), which created a transportation modernization grant program with approximately $5 million allocated and rules anticipated for implementation in 2025.

Committee members asked whether BLR can identify unfunded mandates and provide more granular time‑series data on support‑staff pay and driver recruitment/retention; BLR said some of that detail is available in APSCN and in follow‑up survey responses and offered to provide requested breakdowns.