There was a small decrease in number of districts hiring private food, custodial or transportation services. This year, 69.7% of districts, or 375, used contracted services. This is down from 70.1%, or 378 districts, in 2018. After a consistent annual increase in the percentage of districts contracting out from 2001 to 2017, the trend has leveled out and even decreased slightly over the past two years.
Custodial services were the most frequently outsourced service while transportation was the least outsourced. The rate of contracting for custodial services declined in 2019. However, contracting for food and transportation services both increased slightly.
Graphic 1: Percentage of School Districts Contracting Out for Noninstructional Services, 2005-2019