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Surry schools will limit bus routes
Cost of gas drives schools to cut back
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Published: August 31, 2008
DOBSON
Surry County Schools will operate limited bus routes after the first two weeks of school because of gas prices, something that has pushed administrators to look closer at the miles driven to pick up some children and routes where others simply aren't riding.
School systems in Elkin and Mount Airy, which contract with Surry County Schools to provide transportation, may also consolidate bus routes.
"It will be inconvenient for some people, but the masses expect us to do something more frugal with transportation," said Ashley Hinson, the superintendent of Surry County Schools. "It would almost be irresponsible not to tighten our belt when everyone else is doing the same thing."
The price of gas has hit schools hard. Although the state pays for the bulk of the fuel they use, as prices rise above what is allocated, there is no guarantee that the state will be able to come up with the difference.
The state currently gives schools $3.25 for every gallon of gas they buy. But schools are currently paying $3.34 a gallon -- a discounted price set by a N.C. Department of Public Instruction contract.
"That (price) changes every day," said Derek Graham, the section chief of transportation services for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. "It's up to each school system to generate some savings or kick in additional money."
Surry County Schools spent $678,000 on fuel last school year to provide transportation for its school system, Elkin and Mount Airy.
That same year, school officials eliminated four of the 129 routes and used 4,200 fewer gallons of gas, but it still cost $216,000 more than administrators expected because of soaring fuel prices.
Although the state allocation paid for most of it, last year the Surry schools had to cover about $34,500 of it, said Rodney Hardy, the director of transportation at Surry County Schools.
Historically, the General Assembly had given schools an additional allotment to offset rising fuel costs. But that wasn't the case last year.
Based on the same consumption, school officials in Surry County are projecting that their fuel costs in 2008-09 will climb by $90,000 to an estimated $768,000.
"That's all three systems," Hardy said.
Surry County Schools was able to drop four routes last school year by finding ways to be more efficient.
Some of the new buses can hold more students, and some routes were consolidated, Hardy said. The bigger buses will help as more routes are combined, he said.
When schools opened Monday, about 125 buses began delivering children to and from schools in Surry, Elkin and Mount Airy each day. The majority of those buses, about 108, are for Surry County Schools. Mount Airy has 11 and Elkin seven.
The goal this year is to log fewer miles.
Last school year, Surry buses drove 1.15 million miles. Mount Airy and Elkin buses drove a combined 150,000.
Before stops and routes are consolidated, Hardy said, there will be a lot of factors to consider.
One is the number of children who live on a road. If there are 10 or more, guidelines from the State Board of Education say that buses have to stop every two-tenths of a mile, he said. One possibility in that case would be to designate a bus stop for those children to all board the bus at the same time, instead of the bus having to make 10 or more stops of short distances.
Also, Surry County Schools decided that buses will not go down roads shorter than a half-mile for children in grades 6 through 12. In those cases, the children would meet the bus at the end of the road. "Does that mean we're going to consolidate all of them?" Hardy said. "We're also looking at criteria such as is it a safe stop?"
State officials are encouraging districts to be as efficient as possible without compromising safety, Graham said. The State Board of Education guidelines are simply guidelines;. whether to make exceptions to those guidelines It's a local decision.
For the first two weeks, Surry bus drivers have been doing what they always do, Hinson said. They are driving the same routes, and as they pick up and drop off children, they are working on route descriptions of all the stops and roads.
It's too early to tell how many students might be affected, Hinson said; there's speculation that because of gas prices, more children will be riding the bus,.
"There are going to be people who are going to be inconvenienced," Hinson said. "I think the issue is safety. I think we will certainly work with any safety issues we have.
■ Sherry Youngquist can be reached in Mount Airy at 336-789-9338 or at syoungquist@wsjournal.com.
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