Support Staff

Support staff, generally referred to as classified staff, includes maintenance, food service and transportation workers, custodians, educational assistants and clerical personnel. The person responsible for business operations, or for personnel, can tell you the number of people employed on the classified staff and the costs for these operations, as well as about the operations themselves.

School districts are required to maintain buildings and grounds “... in accordance with all applicable Oregon Revised Statutes and Oregon Administrative Rules.” School districts also are required to provide student transportation. (See Transportation and Revenue Sources, State School Fund.)

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Food Service

Districts are not required to provide food services. However, most districts do provide food services and receive some federal support for doing so.

Districts offering lunch, breakfast and milk programs work to provide these programs on a self-supporting basis. Programs that meet federal guidelines receive federal support as well as commodities from the federal government.

School districts that participate in federal Title I programs or have 25 percent or more students eligible for free or reduced price lunches are required to offer breakfast programs. (See School Nutrition.)

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Transportation

The State School Fund distribution formula requires all school districts to provide transportation to elementary students living more than one mile from school and secondary students living more than 1.5 miles from school.

The State School Fund reimburses 70 percent of approved transportation costs, which include:

• Transporting students for health or safety reasons or special education purposes.
• Transporting disabled preschool children requiring early intervention services.
• Transporting students between schools or facilities during the school day or week.
• Transporting students participating in school-sponsored field trips that are extensions of classroom learning experiences.

Approved transportation costs also include room and board in lieu of transportation.

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Contracted Services

Currently, the question being debated by some school boards is whether support services should be provided by employees the district hires or through contracts with private firms. Many school districts now do the latter. When a district contracts for food, transportation, maintenance or custodial services, it saves the direct payment of payroll costs incurred for these employees, specifically Public Employees Retirement System and other fringe benefit payments.

Employees hired by contractors providing services to schools are not subject to rules and regulations that govern schools.

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