Rising gasoline, diesel prices pinch rural schools

Many rural schools, already faced with budget shortfalls and cuts, have another expense to juggle. Fuel prices are "impacting vehicle fleets that can't trim any miles from their daily drive" and hundreds of students use school buses to get to school daily, Nikki Davidson reports for TV6 News in Negaunee, Mich. The Superior Central school district in Eben Junction "covers 225 square miles, and about 50 percent of students take the bus to school, Davidson reports. Sharon Vierk, who drives a bus 50 miles each morning, told Davidson, "It's a big triangle; there's no shortcuts."

Supt. Pamela Morris told Davidson that the higher fuel prices will cost the school district 7 to 10 percent more, and with additional cuts coming from the state, the increase will be difficult to handle. The district is looking at combining routes, purchasing more fuel-efficient buses, and other alternatives to minimize costs. (Read more)