Busing woes

By Doug Page | Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 11:17 AM

Whatever happens with the price of diesel, Bob McClintock wants Northmont parents to know one thing:

“We’ll get kids to school safely every day,” the school district’s business manager said.

His sentiments are echoed by other school leaders in northwest Montgomery County. All are looking for ways to cut costs, but there is only so much the districts can do. The state promises to increase its transportation aid by 1 percent for the coming school year.

Falling behind “The state share is going up,” McClintock said, “but not as fast as costs. We’re falling behind.”

For Northmont, the cost per mile has gone from $3.69 in the 2004-05 school year to $4.67 for 2006-07, an increase of 26 percent. At the same time, state reimbursement per mile has dropped 15 percent from $2.24 to $1.90.

Trotwood’s cost per mile is up 33 percent over the three school years, while state reimbursement is down 23 percent.

The exception Brookville breaks the trend. The district’s costs have dropped 2 percent, while state reimbursement rose 4 percent.

That’s because the district cut busing starting in the 2005-06 school year to the state minimum: no high school busing and K-8 busing only for those living two or more miles from school.

The district needed to cut $1 million from its operating costs after a levy failure. Transportation took most of the cuts.

“We went from using 32,000 gallons of diesel to 16,000 gallons last year,” Superintendent Tim Hopkins said. “Fuel consumption for this year will be interesting to see. I don’t think fuel costs will be very different. And that’s a very good thing.”

Deadly diesel The price of diesel is a budget killer. Joe Poe, transportation supervisor for the Trotwood-Madison district, remembers when $30,000 would cover his fuel bill for the year. Now, $30,000 won’t last two months.

John Blessing, Northmont’s operations director, had budgeted $208,000 for diesel this school year. He had to find an additional $22,000, spending $230,000.

“I may need a bake sale to finish out the year,” a laughing Blessing said.

According to the federal Energy Information Administration, diesel ranged from $2.40 to $2.60 a gallon during the 2005-06 school year; from $2.50 to $2.90 the next; and from $3 to $4.90 this past school year.

“And people tell us to live within our budgets,” Hopkins said. With the state covering a lower and lower percentage of transportation costs, the percentage paid by local taxpayers either has to increase or service curtailed.

In part, that is what Brookville did. By reducing busing, eliminating one bus mechanic and cutting the supervisor’s hours, Hopkins said the district did not have to make any direct classroom cuts.

Smart routing Gone are the days of separate buses for different teams. Northmont’s McClintock said athletic departments are getting smarter, scheduling varsity and junior varsity against the same school the same day.

“We just bunch up our athletic trips,” Blessing said. “One team just has to wait on the other.”

In addition, Northmont suspended “free” field trips several years ago. Now each building is responsible for finding the money to pay for a field trip, either through a PTO or fundraising.

According to McClintock, the going rate this year was $2.15 a mile — based on $3.95 a gallon diesel — and $16.75 an hour for a driver.

“We’re obviously going to have to raise that price next year,” he said.

Brookville’s Hopkins wondered whether the days of the single-bus route were coming back. Most districts use two buses for a route: one for the high school/middle school, the other for elementary students.

“Perhaps it’s time to think about using one bus to pickup all the kids on the route. It might start to make economic sense,” he said.

New-bus blues The state also has cut back on its assistance in purchasing buses. The vehicles start at $70,000.

“Now, we’re lucky to get one-third of a bus,” said Trotwood-Madison’s Poe. In the 2005-06 school year, the district received $27,412.92 in bus-replacement aid. This school year, the district got $19,405.76, a 41 percent decrease.

The district does not have a schedule for buying buses. It bought seven buses in 1999 when it had the money, Poe said. It bought one this year

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