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Tech wrestles with fuel prices
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| Arant |
By GEORGE JARED
Paxton Media News Bureau
Diesel prices are skyrocketing and Greene County Tech School District officials are searching for ways to cut costs.
Some of those might include the elimination of unnecessary field trips, consolidation of the number of buses taken to sporting events and activities, and a redistribution of which bus drivers are allowed to take buses home after running their routes.
“We have to be proactive, not reactive,” Greene County Tech Superintendent Tommy Arant said. “The price of fuel is so unpredictable right now.”
The school district spent $183,462.67 on fuel during the 2007-08 school year. At the beginning of the school year, a gallon of diesel cost $2.31. By the end of the year, it rose to $3.94, Arant said.
“How can we build a budget with that kind of unpredictability?” Arant said.
Each school day, the district deploys a fleet of 43 buses. Those buses drove 450,000 miles this last school year.
“On a route, our buses get between 6 to 8 miles to the gallon,” Arant said. “On a trip we might get 8 to 10 miles a gallon.”
Increased fuel costs are also causing other budget problems, the superintendent said. Food prices will likely rise over the next year and unpaid lunches charged by students — $19,240 worth — are draining budgets, Arant said.
There are no plans to increase lunch prices to offset those costs, he said.
At a school board meeting earlier this month, Arant said he talked to members about solutions. A committee composed of faculty, administrators and others employed by the school district, has been formed to find ways to reduce fuel use.
School officials employed a GPS tracking system on their buses to see if routes overlap. By the time school resumes in August, Arant said routes might change to make them more efficient.
Some parents and teachers may be upset by elimination of some field trips, Arant said. But it’s necessary, he added. “We have to find ways to cut our costs,” he said. “We don’t have a choice.”
Arant was recently appointed the interim superintendent, replacing the retiring Sheila Ford. He has agreed to remain with the district through the next school year or until a new superintendent is found.
With 38 years of experience in the education field, Arant said fuel prices are as big a problem as he has ever experienced.
“We’ll get through it,” Arant said.
Some of those might include the elimination of unnecessary field trips, consolidation of the number of buses taken to sporting events and activities, and a redistribution of which bus drivers are allowed to take buses home after running their routes.
“We have to be proactive, not reactive,” Greene County Tech Superintendent Tommy Arant said. “The price of fuel is so unpredictable right now.”
The school district spent $183,462.67 on fuel during the 2007-08 school year. At the beginning of the school year, a gallon of diesel cost $2.31. By the end of the year, it rose to $3.94, Arant said.
“How can we build a budget with that kind of unpredictability?” Arant said.
Each school day, the district deploys a fleet of 43 buses. Those buses drove 450,000 miles this last school year.
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Increased fuel costs are also causing other budget problems, the superintendent said. Food prices will likely rise over the next year and unpaid lunches charged by students — $19,240 worth — are draining budgets, Arant said.
There are no plans to increase lunch prices to offset those costs, he said.
At a school board meeting earlier this month, Arant said he talked to members about solutions. A committee composed of faculty, administrators and others employed by the school district, has been formed to find ways to reduce fuel use.
School officials employed a GPS tracking system on their buses to see if routes overlap. By the time school resumes in August, Arant said routes might change to make them more efficient.
Some parents and teachers may be upset by elimination of some field trips, Arant said. But it’s necessary, he added. “We have to find ways to cut our costs,” he said. “We don’t have a choice.”
Arant was recently appointed the interim superintendent, replacing the retiring Sheila Ford. He has agreed to remain with the district through the next school year or until a new superintendent is found.
With 38 years of experience in the education field, Arant said fuel prices are as big a problem as he has ever experienced.
“We’ll get through it,” Arant said.
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