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Local school corporations are watching the increases in fuel prices carefully.
Whitko Schools Transportation Director Mike Sands said Thursday he gauged fuel costs Thursday morning. The direct cost for Whitko Schools was given as $2.28 per gallon, up from $1.68 in June when the school corporation topped off its fuel tanks. Schools do not pay gas taxes. Sands said Whitko was still good on gas for another week. He also was told to hold off on getting more fuel until after this week, after Labor Day, as gas prices are expected to go down then.
He said the school corporation was watching their driving and fuel consumption. When a bus parks, Sands said bus drivers were told to turn their buses off and not let them idle in order to save some fuel.
Whitko's budget this year for fuel was based on 100,000 gallons. For next year, that amount probably won't change but extra busing such as field trips may be limited.
Jim Evans, director of finance at Wawasee Schools, said Wawasee hasn't made any changes yet. They will wait and see what the fuel prices do. As for the budget for the remainder of this year for fuel, he said he anticipates they can buy what they will need. Next year, the transportation fund is already capped. If more money is needed next year for fuel, Evans said they may just not spend money out of the transportation fund for something and use it for fuel instead.
Field trips are not a large part of the transportation fund expense, but if cuts are needed, Evans said that is one area they will look at to cut. But they will only do what they have to and don't want to cut any educational field trips if it's not necessary.
Warsaw Community Schools Director of Transportation Della Swain said bus ridership is up this year compared to last school year. That may be due, in part, she said, to prices in gas. Less students are driving to school and parents aren't taking their students to school as much.
"It's costing a lot more money," Swain said of the gas prices, but Warsaw Schools isn't making any changes as of yet. From Tuesday to Friday last week, Swain said the price in fuel jumped 28 cents per gallon.
For next year's budget, Swain said they budgeted 50 cents per gallon more than this year.
