Schools Feel the Clutches of Higher Gas Prices
Like all of us, schools around the nation are feeling the effects of high gas prices. As but one example, Nash-Rocky Mount schools in North Carolina burned through about $729,000 in fuel in the last fiscal year — nearly twice as much as in the previous year.
In an effort to cope, schools are coming up with a range of strategies--all of which involve cutting services. In Minnesota, for instance, one district plans to eliminate classes every Monday to come up with the extra $65,000 it needs to fill its buses' tanks. The superintendent commented "I know $65,000 may not sound like a lot, but it's more than one teaching position,"
The efforts vary from large to small. In Mississippi, the High School Activities Association approved a plan to cut the number of varsity games by 10% beginning this fall for all sports except football. In Texas, lawmakers have said they will re-evaluate their state's school funding system, which has been criticized as ill-equipped to handle sudden spikes in costs such as fuel.
As everyone is finding out, the final bill is going to be huge. For example, when North Carolina lawmakers drafted the state's current two-year spending plan, they estimated a gallon of diesel would cost $1.69 this school year and $1.83 starting this fall. Those estimates are woefully low, forcing state education officials to scramble for an extra $27 million to get the state's school bus fleet just through the end of this school year.
It is difficult to envision all that has to be done and all that will be done. But what is painfully clear is that services and salaries are going to suffer as every district in the nation tries to come up with some sort of solution.
