Helen Eriksen Articles Warned of Cuts to Bus Service:
Katy ISD tries to reduce utility, transit costs
Helen Eriksen, Chronicle Correspondent
Published 5:30 am, Monday, June 30, 2008
Skyrocketing fuel prices have Katy Independent School District administrators anticipating spending twice as much as budgeted last year to keep pace with transportation costs. School officials say the district is bracing to double its fuel budget to $3.4 million. This will accommodate higher fuel prices and slight increases in mileage because of four new school openings.
In 2007-08, the district budgeted $1.7 million for diesel and gasoline combined. Like many other consumers, Katy ISD administrators say they are looking for ways to mitigate the impact of the relentless increases. Michael Matej, Katy ISD’s utility conservation manager, said the district has implemented a series of initiatives to help offset costs and maximize energy efficiency in its buildings. “While we are exempt from paying certain taxes on fuel, such as excise, we still find ourselves having to bear the incremental cost increases that the remainder of the population is experiencing,” district spokesman Steve Stanford said.
Using estimates and trends from previous periods, the district created a fuel budget in March 2007 for its bus fleet based on a cost of $2.30 per gallon of diesel. The district expects to use about 550,000 gallons of diesel or an average of 3,000 gallons a day. Millions of miles “Since we drive around 3.5 million bus miles a year, the annual diesel cost alone was expected to be nearly $1.3 million,” Stanford said. In October, the district paid $2.10 per gallon for diesel, but by April the cost had soared to $3.35 per gallon, forcing a budget increase of $400,000. At the end of May, the district was paying $4.15 for a gallon of diesel. “Based on the trend of the recent past, it is not unreasonable to estimate an average price of $4.93 for diesel and $3.87 for gasoline for the next fiscal year, 2008-09,” Stanford said.
While officials are taking some steps to rein in the amount of fuel used, they say much of the expense is unavoidable. “Because the vast majority of the bus miles driven are to transport students to or from school, there are significant limitations in our options to reduce costs,” Stanford said. To increase fuel efficiency, the district implemented a no-idling practice several years ago on regular buses, officials say. This does not apply to special education buses that transport students with medical conditions who must have adequate heating and cooling at all times.
The state’s formula for reimbursing districts for transportation costs doesn’t account for the rising price of fuel, Stanford said, because for regular education programs, the state only pays for students who live two or more miles from the school they attend. Texas Education Agency data shows that state funding formulas have not changed since 1984, when the per -mile allotment for transporting students was set by the Texas Legislature at a maximum rate of $1.43 per mile of approved route. Energy conservation Matej said the district is saving money through energy-efficient projects and practices. For example, CenterPoint Energy sent the district a check for more than $63,000 for participating in the Texas Schools Conserving Resources Program, he said. CenterPoint paid the district more than $150 per peak kilowatt of energy saved. “This year we are looking to surpass that,” said Matej, who has worked in the district for 24 years. As part of this incentive program which targets schools and municipal buildings, school districts are rewarded for improving energy and for reducing their peak demand for energy needs through facility upgrades and efficient new construction. The district completed 11 projects -- new construction or renovation work that qualified under SCORE in 2007. They included upgrading aging boilers, chiller replacement, lighting retrofits, roofing projects and implementing systems that reduce energy consumption. Some projects were funded by the 2006 bond allocation.
Kathy McDonald, director of maintenance and operations, said at the beginning of summer that administrators shifted to seasonal hours to reduce fuel and utility costs. She said her department is focused on preventive maintenance, which is critical to reducing energy costs. She also said the district is also going “green” with recycling programs. Bins are available at several campuses for residents to recycle paper, newspaper, magazines, etc. Scooter McMeans, assistant superintendent for support services, said the district is also grappling with the effect of rising fuel prices on food service. A spike in food production costs has occurred, but the district has not yet passed those increases on to students. “Much of the increase will be absorbed in our existing fund balance, but we will certainly have to review this periodically as there is no doubt an increase in meal prices is looming within the next year or two,” he said. Students will see higher prices on some individual products or à la carte items, he said