Busted budgets
Area school officials are scrambling to slash unnecessary miles from bus routes as soaring diesel fuel prices threaten to drive transportation costs over budgeted amounts ranging up to almost $1 million.
Diesel fuel prices have soared by more than 70 cents a gallon since spring. That poses a particular problem in Augusta County, where drivers cover an area the size of Rhode Island.
The county budgeted more than $869,000 for bus transportation for the school year that starts Aug. 19. That is a few thousand dollars less than what the county spent last school year.
Waynesboro Schools Finance Director Bill Staton plans to ask for an additional $24,000 to be budgeted for bus transportation. He is unsure the $115,000 total will cover Waynesboro’s transportation costs this school year. The district spent $110,000 last school year.
Trimming routes can help save miles, but in Augusta the options are limited. In addition to the problem posed by the county’s size — it stretches over more than 900 square miles — routes in far western areas such as Craigsville and Deerfield can’t be cut.
“We are reviewing the routes,” said Augusta bus route coordinator Bob Glenn. “If anything can be streamlined, it will.”
Staunton is slightly less than 20 square miles, while Waynesboro is 15.4 square miles.
County officials are asking drivers who live in a common area to park their buses at school after a morning route, and ride home on one bus. All of those drivers would return to school in the afternoon on one bus to start student pickups.
The move could save a gallon a day per driver, which could rack up valuable savings over the 180-day school year, Glenn said.
“If you save a little over a gallon a day, that is $4,” Glenn said.
The drivers will ride home together after their morning run, and return to a school in the afternoon on the same bus to get on their respective buses and pick up students.
Glenn said in Fort Defiance where Augusta has three schools, five drivers will ride home on one bus after their morning runs.
Drivers are being asked to stay as close to their route as possible, Glenn said.
Reader Reactions
The four dollars seems pointless—and how much does each bus burn per mile? This inconvience creates a burden on the drivers who are not paid not more than eight thousand a yaer if they are a permanent part-time employee. We just read that gas companies just posted another huge profit this quarter, so how about “get your boss to call that boss to have the bosses talk.“ In other words, state legislatures must put the pressure on Capital Hill to incline their ear to “the people” and not “to the lobbyists.“
Another tickle: Power companies raise their costs, residental pull back and use less, but Obama wants to send us $1,000! It’s going right back to the power companies!
However,we must never “[begin] to disturb the pleasure and propiety of ‘their’life” (Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilyich).
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