Matt Frye/Sun Tribune photo illustrationNorth Kansas City Schools bus driver Patty Vick fills up her school bus the morning of Friday, May 9. Vick pumped just more than 33 gallons of diesel fuel into the bus.
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School districts getting pinched by diesel prices
North Kansas City Schools sees 106 percent jump in four years
By Ray Weikal
Going to the fuel pump is getting uncomfortable for Northland school districts.
Diesel fuel prices across the United States are increasing at a faster rate than gasoline. And just like individual families, school district administrators are looking in their collective wallets, scratching their heads and wondering where to get the money.
Paul Harrell is the resident money guru for North Kansas City Schools. As the chief financial officer, he needs to figure out where to find the funds to keep the district’s 150-bus fleet running.
“Schools also feel the pinch of the high cost of gas,” Harrell said. “Although the schools do not pay the 24.4-cent federal excise tax on diesel fuel, our budgets still feel the burden.”
Paul Kelly is Harrell’s counterpart at Park Hill School District. In a system with about 100 buses, Kelly’s also starting to sweat over fuel prices.
“That’s growing so much over the year that fuel’s becoming a disproportionate part of our budget,” he said.
Diesel prices in the Midwest have jumped $1.35 a gallon since the same time last year, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. That’s compared to the 50 cents a gallon increase for gas. Demand, environmental standards and taxes have all contributed to the leap in diesel prices, according to the EIA.
For North Kansas City Schools, the impact is a 106 percent increase in fuel costs, from $455,000 in the 2004-2005 school year to a projected $940,000 in the current academic year, according to Harrell. The extra cost is the equivalent of 13 beginning teacher salaries. And the extra fuel costs aren’t just due to more miles travelled, Harrell explained. This school year, the district will purchase about 4 percent more fuel over the previous period. The district’s spending, however, will jump 43 percent.
Park Hill School District has seen similar increases in how much it spends on diesel, according to Kelly. Trends suggest that the district may spend about $375,000 on fuel for the 2007-2008 school year. Four years ago, district fuel expenditures were $213,437.
Both North Kansas City Schools and Park Hill School District are doing everything they can to save fuel, according to Harrell and Kelly. Transportation officials try to find ways of combining routes and limiting extra trips. They discourage drivers from idling their vehicles. They experiment with innovative fuel mixtures that promise to increase efficiency.
“We don’t allow our drives to idle their buses when it gets above 32 degrees,” said Leon Cauble, contract manager for First Student, which runs the bus system for Park Hill School District.
Starting this fall, North Kansas City Schools will have a fleet based at Staley High School that will operate only north of Missouri Highway 152, according to Director of Transportation Shirley Patrick.
“We’re trying to reduce the miles we run our buses,” she said.
School bus fuel costs in part led U.S. Rep. Sam Graves to introduce legislation in April aimed at speeding up energy-related projects, including approval of new gasoline refineries, according to a press release. If approved, the Streamlining America’s Various Energy Needs Act would create an inter-agency task force to streamline the permit approval process for projects that impact energy costs.
“Our capacity to refine gas is stretched to the limit,” Graves said in the press release. “This bill will streamline the process of approving refineries.”
Even with all their fuel-saving measures, school district officials are looking for the kind of help promised by Graves, Harrell said.
“We have examined our routes and tried to operate as efficiently as possible, but what we, as well as all Americans, need is relief from the pump prices,” he said.
Year — Gallons/fuel — money spent
2004-2005 — n/a — $455,000
2006-2007 — 302,000 — $658,000
2007-2008 (projected) — 315,000 — $940,000
Staff writer Ray Weikal can be reached at 389-6637 or rayweikal@npgco.com.
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Diesel fuel prices across the United States are increasing at a faster rate than gasoline. And just like individual families, school district administrators are looking in their collective wallets, scratching their heads and wondering where to get the money.
Paul Harrell is the resident money guru for North Kansas City Schools. As the chief financial officer, he needs to figure out where to find the funds to keep the district’s 150-bus fleet running.
“Schools also feel the pinch of the high cost of gas,” Harrell said. “Although the schools do not pay the 24.4-cent federal excise tax on diesel fuel, our budgets still feel the burden.”
Paul Kelly is Harrell’s counterpart at Park Hill School District. In a system with about 100 buses, Kelly’s also starting to sweat over fuel prices.
“That’s growing so much over the year that fuel’s becoming a disproportionate part of our budget,” he said.
Diesel prices in the Midwest have jumped $1.35 a gallon since the same time last year, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. That’s compared to the 50 cents a gallon increase for gas. Demand, environmental standards and taxes have all contributed to the leap in diesel prices, according to the EIA.
For North Kansas City Schools, the impact is a 106 percent increase in fuel costs, from $455,000 in the 2004-2005 school year to a projected $940,000 in the current academic year, according to Harrell. The extra cost is the equivalent of 13 beginning teacher salaries. And the extra fuel costs aren’t just due to more miles travelled, Harrell explained. This school year, the district will purchase about 4 percent more fuel over the previous period. The district’s spending, however, will jump 43 percent.
Park Hill School District has seen similar increases in how much it spends on diesel, according to Kelly. Trends suggest that the district may spend about $375,000 on fuel for the 2007-2008 school year. Four years ago, district fuel expenditures were $213,437.
Both North Kansas City Schools and Park Hill School District are doing everything they can to save fuel, according to Harrell and Kelly. Transportation officials try to find ways of combining routes and limiting extra trips. They discourage drivers from idling their vehicles. They experiment with innovative fuel mixtures that promise to increase efficiency.
“We don’t allow our drives to idle their buses when it gets above 32 degrees,” said Leon Cauble, contract manager for First Student, which runs the bus system for Park Hill School District.
Starting this fall, North Kansas City Schools will have a fleet based at Staley High School that will operate only north of Missouri Highway 152, according to Director of Transportation Shirley Patrick.
“We’re trying to reduce the miles we run our buses,” she said.
School bus fuel costs in part led U.S. Rep. Sam Graves to introduce legislation in April aimed at speeding up energy-related projects, including approval of new gasoline refineries, according to a press release. If approved, the Streamlining America’s Various Energy Needs Act would create an inter-agency task force to streamline the permit approval process for projects that impact energy costs.
“Our capacity to refine gas is stretched to the limit,” Graves said in the press release. “This bill will streamline the process of approving refineries.”
Even with all their fuel-saving measures, school district officials are looking for the kind of help promised by Graves, Harrell said.
“We have examined our routes and tried to operate as efficiently as possible, but what we, as well as all Americans, need is relief from the pump prices,” he said.
Year — Gallons/fuel — money spent
2004-2005 — n/a — $455,000
2006-2007 — 302,000 — $658,000
2007-2008 (projected) — 315,000 — $940,000
Staff writer Ray Weikal can be reached at 389-6637 or rayweikal@npgco.com.