Soaring fuel prices are forcing Colorado’s school districts to consider gas-conserving measures that would see more students walk to school and make field trips more expensive this year, district officials said.
At the same time, school districts are dipping into reserve funds, transportation experts are dusting off fuel-saving manuals from the 1970s, and bus drivers are being asked to find ways to save fuel on their daily routes.
As districts for months have planned changes to offset ever-increasing costs, sustained price jumps continue to slam already thin budgets.
“There’s no question that (fuel) prices are going to climb higher before they begin to flatten out,” said Bruce Little, senior transportation consultant for the Colorado Department of Education. “Some people are already talking about rationing gas and what we’d have to do if that happened. (Districts) are in a difficult situation.”
The U.S. Department of Energy said this month that the price of unleaded gasoline stood at roughly $2.55 a gallon nationally, up 68 cents from last year. Diesel fuel neared $2.57 a gallon, up 74 cents from a year ago.
In some Colorado schools, that means more budget-busting increases.
At the Jefferson County district, the state’s largest, officials increased the fuel budget $160,000 this year to accommodate rising expenses.
“It’s extremely expensive for us, which is very much a concern,” said Jan Clopton, executive director for the district’s transportation and fleet services. The district billed out $1.5 million for fuel last year.
“It’s to the point where, anywhere you can cut costs, you have to do it,” Clopton said.
Among the ideas tossed around in Jefferson County is a 10- to 15-cent increase per mile charged students for field trips. Currently field trips cost $29 an hour, plus $1.10 a mile. The cumulative cost is split among students on the bus.
In the Cherry Creek district, officials said that if fuel prices increase another $1 a gallon by the school year’s end, the district might expand its mandatory walking-distance radius around schools.
Currently Cherry Creek allows elementary school students onto buses if they live more than a mile from their school. Middle-schoolers and high school students can ride if they live 1.5 miles or more from their school.
“We do have contingency funds,” district spokeswoman Tustin Amole said. “But if (fuel prices) go up another dollar, we will have problems.”
Denver Public Schools, which saw a $250,000 increase in diesel, biodiesel and propane expenditures last school year, is expecting similar jumps this year.
In Colorado Springs School District 11, gas prices leapt 50 cents a gallon from July 2004 to June.
The district budgeted $310,000 for fuel in its support vehicles and buses, but officials now expect to spend $350,000 before next June.
And in Weld County School District 6, bus drivers are being asked to reduce idling times and report construction backups that might put buses in prolonged traffic.
The district will develop contingencies after Labor Day if prices don’t fall.
“We’re holding our breath,” said Wayne Eads, the district’s assistant superintendent for auxiliary services. “We don’t have anything like these increases in our budget.”
Staff writer Robert Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-1282 or rsanchez@denverpost.com.
