Sunday, February 13, 2000
Gas prices hit schools hard
BY JANET C. WETZEL and SUE KIESEWETTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Buying gasoline or diesel fuel for $1 a gallon might sound like a bargain to the average driver. Bill Frauenknecht sees it a little differently.
For Mr. Frauenknecht, Mason Schools transportation director, prices like that are bad news — especially when he's used to paying about 52 cents a gallon to fuel the district's fleet of 84 buses.
Throughout the Tristate, school districts are feeling the pinch from the recent run-up in fuel prices. The bigger, growing districts like Mason take a double hit: higher enrollments mean more buses and longer routes, covered by vehicles that aren't known for fuel efficiency.
School officials are scrambling to find the best deals, and the extra money needed to cover fuel costs that have zoomed 40 percent since last year.
In Mason, where enrollment grew by more than 700 students in one year, diesel fuel has increased 11 cents per gallon since Dec. 20. The price is $1 a gallon, up 48 cents a gallon compared to a year ago, Mr. Frauenknecht said. The district's fleet uses 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel each month on average, traveling 3,990 miles a day.
“You always try to build in a little extra,” Mr. Frauenknecht said. “It's almost impossible to plan for this kind of increase.”
In Butler County's Lakota Schools, Ohio's eighth-largest district, fuel costs have doubled in the past year, said Larry Lane, transportation director.
The buses, which average three to eight miles per gallon, travel about 10,000 miles daily, transporting 15,000 students to public and private schools.
“It's going to be a budgetary problem,” Mr. Lane said. The 12 percent budgeted increase won't be enough to cover the higher prices, he said.
Fairfield schools paid $1.09 a gallon for diesel in January, up 48 cents a gallon from a year ago. That's $480 more the district is spending daily for the 1,000-gallon average usage, said Bill Westerbeck, director of transportation.
“I'm paying higher (fuel) prices now than we did during the Gulf War,” Mr. Westerbeck said. “I'm going to have to go back for more money.”
Transportation officials aren't the only ones fretting about fuel costs.
In Clermont Northeastern Schools, Treasurer Brian Switzer said an even greater problem is paying for fuel oil to heat all five district buildings. .
“I'm looking at about a 40 percent increase” overall for diesel and fuel oil, Mr. Switzer estimated. “On this year's budget it could be $120,000. We budget an inflationary increase of 5-6 percent, not 40 percent. It's making a significant impact. I'll be analyzing the remaining money in the general fund to see where we can cut.”
Some school districts contract for fuel, which blunts the impact of price increases.
In Kenton County Schools, one of Kentucky's five largest districts, the contract helps. But with diesel prices up 25-30 cents a gallon in the past year, the overall increase is significant, said Tom Bach, transportation director.
“We use about 220,000 gallons of diesel annually,” for 157 buses and 43 maintenance vehicles, Mr. Bach said. “It could be a problem if the high prices continue long term. But there's nothing we can do to cut back. Our routes are as streamlined as we can get them. We just have to bite the bullet and pay the prices for the fuel.”
All over the Tristate, motorists are digging deeper to feed their gas tanks. Pump prices for regular unleaded in recent weeks have ranged from $1.25 to $1.45 a gallon.
“This is the highest price (locally) in at least 40 years,” said Mike Kunnen, president and executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Gasoline Dealers Association.
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