(a) A local or regional board of education providing transportation in accordance with the provisions of sections 10-54, 10-66ee, 10-97, 10-158a, 10-273a, 10-277 and 10-281 shall be reimbursed for a percentage of such transportation costs as follows:

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(1) The percentage of pupil transportation costs reimbursed to a local board of education shall be determined by (A) ranking each town in the state in descending order from one to one hundred sixty-nine according to such town’s adjusted equalized net grand list per capita, as defined in section 10-261; (B) based upon such ranking, and notwithstanding the provisions of section 2-32a, (i) except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, a percentage of zero shall be assigned to towns ranked from one to thirteen and a percentage of not less than zero nor more than sixty shall be determined for the towns ranked from fourteen to one hundred sixty-nine on a continuous scale, except that any such percentage shall be increased by twenty percentage points in accordance with section 10-97, where applicable, and (ii) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997, and for each fiscal year thereafter, a percentage of zero shall be assigned to towns ranked from one to seventeen and a percentage of not less than zero nor more than sixty shall be determined for the towns ranked from eighteen to one hundred sixty-nine on a continuous scale.

(2) The percentage of pupil transportation costs reimbursed to a regional board of education shall be determined by its ranking. Such ranking shall be determined by (A) multiplying the total population, as defined in section 10-261, of each town in the district by such town’s ranking, as determined in subdivision (1) of this subsection, (B) adding together the figures determined under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, and (C) dividing the total computed under subparagraph (B) of this subdivision by the total population of all towns in the district. The ranking of each regional board of education shall be rounded to the next higher whole number and each such board shall receive the same reimbursement percentage as would a town with the same rank, provided such percentage shall be increased in the case of a secondary regional school district by an additional five percentage points and, in the case of any other regional school district by an additional ten percentage points.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997, and for each fiscal year thereafter, no local or regional board of education shall receive a grant of less than one thousand dollars.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, to June 30, 2019, inclusive, and for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2024, and June 30, 2025, inclusive, the amount of transportation grants payable to local or regional boards of education shall be reduced proportionately if the total of such grants in such year exceeds the amount appropriated for such grants for such year.

(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the Commissioner of Education may provide grants, within available appropriations, in an amount not to exceed two thousand dollars per pupil, to local and regional boards of education and regional educational service centers that transport (A) out-of-district students to a technical education and career school located in Hartford, or (B) Hartford students attending a technical education and career school or a regional agricultural science and technology education center outside of the district, to assist the state in meeting its obligations pursuant to the decision in Sheff v. O’Neill, 238 Conn. 1 (1996), or any related stipulation or order in effect, as determined by the Commissioner of Education, for the costs associated with such transportation.

(6) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, in addition to the reimbursements and grants payable under subdivisions (1) to (5), inclusive, of this subsection, the Commissioner of Education shall provide a grant when (A) two or more boards of education enter into a cooperative agreement in accordance with section 10-158a to transport students to schools operated by the boards of education during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, and (B) such cooperative arrangement results in a savings, as determined by the commissioner, over the transportation costs incurred by the boards of education during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. This grant, which shall be returned to the municipalities in which the participating boards of education are located in accordance with the terms of the written cooperative arrangement, shall be equal to half of the difference in the amount the boards of education would have been reimbursed in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, for pupil transportation costs but for the savings realized in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, pursuant to the cooperative arrangement.

(b) A cooperative arrangement established pursuant to section 10-158a which provides transportation in accordance with said section shall be reimbursed for a percentage of such transportation costs in accordance with its ranking pursuant to this subsection. The ranking shall be determined by (1) multiplying the total population, as defined in section 10-261, of each town in the cooperative arrangement by such town’s ranking as determined pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, (2) adding such products, and (3) dividing such sum by the total population of all towns in the cooperative arrangement. The ranking of each cooperative arrangement shall be rounded to the next higher whole number and each cooperative arrangement shall receive the same reimbursement percentage as a town with the same rank.