There was a slight increase in the percentage of districts that contract out for food, custodial or transportation services. This year, 70.1 percent of districts, or 379, use a private vendor to provide at least one of these major noninstructional services, up from 69.7 percent, or 378, the year prior.
The level of privatization has increased substantially since 2001 when only 31 percent of districts contracted out these services. Over the last 15 years, privatization of noninstructional services has grown from a relatively rare practice to one that is used by most districts.
Graphic 1: Percentage of School Districts Contracting Out for Noninstructional Services, 2003, 2005-2016