johnnymk
05-30-2008, 08:14 PM
http://www.njbiz.com/daily.asp?eDate=5/30/2008&rzid=87&tzid=68&utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=%2Fdaily%2Easp%3FeDate%3D5%2F30%2F2008%26rzid%3D87%26tzid%3D68%2374579&utm_content=john%2Ebowman9%40verizon%2Enet&utm_campaign=Calpine+Spurns+NRG+Buyout+Offer#74579
The reality of rising fuel prices cost students in a Tennessee school district their bus ride to school this week on the last day of the year.
That's a minor inconvenience compared with what might happen this fall in Minnesota, where a district west of Minneapolis plans to eliminate classes every Monday to come up with the extra $65,000 it needs to fill its buses' tanks.
"I know $65,000 may not sound like a lot, but it's more than one teaching position," said Greg Schmidt, the superintendent in the 700-student MACCRAY district.
And in North Carolina, Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools teachers have scaled back the number of field trips this spring to save fuel, transportation director Binford Sloan said.
The skyrocketing costs at the pump are forcing educators nationwide to trim programs, curb spending and cut down on fuel consumption. Schools are employing unusual cost-savings measures to salvage busted budgets, while lawmakers grapple with how to pay for popular classroom initiatives threatened by the need to pour more money into the fuel tank.
Nash-Rocky Mount schools burned through about $729,000 in fuel in the last fiscal year — nearly twice as much as in the previous year, Sloan said.
The fleet gets about 7 miles to the gallon, which means the district burns through 7,500 gallons every 3 1/2 school days, Sloan said. Recent buys have cost him close to $29,000. The Associated Press
The reality of rising fuel prices cost students in a Tennessee school district their bus ride to school this week on the last day of the year.
That's a minor inconvenience compared with what might happen this fall in Minnesota, where a district west of Minneapolis plans to eliminate classes every Monday to come up with the extra $65,000 it needs to fill its buses' tanks.
"I know $65,000 may not sound like a lot, but it's more than one teaching position," said Greg Schmidt, the superintendent in the 700-student MACCRAY district.
And in North Carolina, Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools teachers have scaled back the number of field trips this spring to save fuel, transportation director Binford Sloan said.
The skyrocketing costs at the pump are forcing educators nationwide to trim programs, curb spending and cut down on fuel consumption. Schools are employing unusual cost-savings measures to salvage busted budgets, while lawmakers grapple with how to pay for popular classroom initiatives threatened by the need to pour more money into the fuel tank.
Nash-Rocky Mount schools burned through about $729,000 in fuel in the last fiscal year — nearly twice as much as in the previous year, Sloan said.
The fleet gets about 7 miles to the gallon, which means the district burns through 7,500 gallons every 3 1/2 school days, Sloan said. Recent buys have cost him close to $29,000. The Associated Press