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Talk about sticker shock.
Rising fuel prices are forcing Jefferson County Schools to pay $57,000 a week to run the buses. In fact, it has been several weeks since the fuel bill was below $50,000.
And it's a similar story across the state. Now, ABC 33/40 has learned the state could soon allow school systems to charge parents more for field trips.
Currently, the Alabama Board of Education allows school districts to charge one dollar per mile for fuel costs on field trips. But sources say this June, the state board will consider raising that fee to $1.50 per mile.
That means a $20 field trip fee would go up to $30. It's just another way people are having to pay more for fuel.
"We try to keep our routes as short as possible and economical, with the least stops possible," Mike Doss said. Doss is an assistant director of transportation for Jefco Schools. "Another way that we save fuel is to make sure our buses are tuned and maintained properly," he added.
School systems may get a small discount on their Diesel, but they're still paying around $3.50 a gallon.
Districts such as Shelby County and Vestavia Hills said, like Jefco, bus drivers are making sure routes are as efficient as possible. In Vestavia Hills, buses are now re-fueling at a station that is closer to system headquarters, saving the system some miles. In Shelby County, the transportation department is no longer keeping a surplus of spare bus parts. Instead, only parts that are needed at any given moment are ordered.
"Used to, Diesel was the cheapest thing you could buy. Now, it's the highest," lamented Doss. He said the school system has looked into using alternative fuels. However, those fuels offered no real savings once the cost of converting buses and finding a large enough supply of fuel were considered.
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