Across Texas, school districts are scrambling to keep yellow buses rolling while state money barely makes a dent in what it actually costs to run them. From the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs to Houston, leaders are cutting routes, dipping into savings, and rerouting local dollars to transportation - moves that squeeze students, families, and already-stressed classroom budgets.
State allotment covers only a sliver of real costs
In recent years, the state's transportation allotment has covered only a fraction of what it takes to operate bus systems. The state has paid as little as 12% of Plano ISD's actual transportation costs and 16% for Fort Worth, while Dallas received about 22%, forcing districts to backfill the rest with local funding, reserve accounts, or cuts in other areas, according to CBS News. The same reporting shows similarly thin coverage across North Texas: Frisco at 18%, Arlington at 18%, Mansfield at 19%, Lewisville at 21% and Crowley at 20%. Plano, facing that gap, cut roughly 1,000 students from bus service this year after certain routes were reclassified as not hazardous enough to qualify for transportation, even if families argue the walk is anything but simple.
Deep cuts in Northwest ISD and elsewhere
Northwest ISD is one of the districts now leaning hard on cuts to close a multi-million dollar shortfall as state transportation aid lags behind real-world expenses, KERA reported. District finance officials say the state's miles-based funding formula has not kept up with inflation, higher fuel prices, and rising labor costs, which leaves superintendents weighing a choice no one wants to make: protect classrooms or protect bus routes.
Lawmakers proposed hikes, but action stalled
This year, Rep. John Bryant filed legislation that would bump the per-mile transportation allotment to $1.50 and lower the distance threshold for eligibility to one mile, according to the Texas Legislature's bill text. Bryant told CBS News the bill never even got a hearing this session. District leaders say that while lawmakers approved modest funding increases this year, the extra money did not go far enough to meaningfully ease transportation shortfalls.
Missing buses ripple into attendance and safety
A national survey included in HopSkipDrive's 2025 State of School Transportation report shows what happens when buses disappear or routes are thinned out. Administrators surveyed tied lack of transportation access to chronic tardiness (76%), chronic absenteeism (74%), academic performance challenges (68%), and safety concerns (75%), highlighting the stakes when districts cut routes or thin coverage. The same report details districts shortening or eliminating routes and shifting staff to cover transportation duties, which piles additional pressure on classroom time and core operations, according to HopSkipDrive.
Districts are patching budgets from other pots
Some Texas districts are trying to reverse cuts by reshuffling their own budgets. Cy-Fair ISD, for example, approved a $1.2 billion plan that restores bus transportation for all students by tapping into the district's fund balance and reprioritizing spending, the Houston Chronicle reported. Elsewhere, districts are raising driver pay, consolidating routes, or trimming programs to avoid even deeper service losses. Finance officials describe those steps as temporary workarounds, not a fix for what they say is a structural funding gap.
What comes next
With the Legislature now adjourned, district leaders say they will keep running buses where they can, but warn that relying on targeted one-time funds and a patchwork of local solutions is not sustainable. Parents and advocates are pushing for a long-term funding overhaul so schools are not forced, year after year, to choose between getting kids to class and what happens once they are inside the classroom.
