Buffalo, NY (WBEN) As gas prices continue to rise dramatically, school district leaders across Western New York are concerned there may have to be some shuffling in the budget to accommodate filling up the tanks of their school buses and other district vehicles.
It's a unique situation in Hamburg says Superintendent Michael Cornell. "We contract out with a company, Fisher bus. So we have a set rate in the contract," says Cornell. "So it doesn't necessarily impact this year's budget for busing at a district like ours," but he acknowledges that won't be the story next year.
Cornell says districts plan for some contingency and overage on various budget lines. "Some years, it's salt because we get a lot of snow. This year, one of those overages for which they have contingencies is obviously higher gas prices," notes Cornell.
In the Niagara Falls School District, Superintendent Mark Laurrie says higher gas prices have been costly to the district already. "We've added an additional $250,000 to our budget, just for school buses, and our maintenance vehicles just to accommodate for the increase," says Laurrie. He says the matter has been discussed with the board of education as they prepare their budget.
Laurrie says the jump concerns him. "Every time you need to accommodate for facilities, fuel, non program related issues, it takes away from programs and people. So it really impacts us that that's quite a significant jump one that we haven't seen," adds Laurrie. He says the price could go even higher, but with an amount like $250,000 requiring discussion before making any decisions, that is a good number with some cushion.
At Sweet Home schools in Amherst, Superintendent Michael Ginestre says it's something he's monitoring on a daily basis. "As we watch them go up, our costs are going up in relativity to those as well," says Ginestre. He notes adjustments will be needed to ensure buses can be fueled up and ready to go.
Ginestre says he's confident his district is in a good position if prices continue to rise. "It's something that you always plan for, and you hope you don't have to use that money. But it is something that is relative with the increase in gas prices," notes Ginestre.
Ginestre says higher gas prices have him looking at an alternative. "We're learning more about the governor's initiative for electric busing, as well. And so I think that's part of the conversation here," explains Ginestre. He says a new transportation center just went online in Amherst, and the district will be prepared when those changes come to think about electric a little more in an effort to mitigate higher fuel prices.
AAA says the average price for a gallon of gas is now $4.31.
