Diesel Prices Fuel District’s Worry
Aug. 31–MANATEE — Steep fuel costs to run school buses in Manatee County could climb higher because of Hurricane Katrina.
Don Ross, supervisor of vehicle maintenance for the school district, said barges that bring diesel fuel to the Tampa Bay area ceased operations while Katrina stormed through the Gulf of Mexico.
As a result, only one of seven area vendors that transports diesel fuel to the county school district was operating Monday and Tuesday.
“We had fuel scheduled to be delivered yesterday (Monday) and the day before, and they actually told us that there is no fuel for us,” Ross said. “So we went into our secondary mode, calling our back-up people. We were on the phone until 1 a.m. trying to schedule fuel to be delivered here.”
Ross said there is no immediate threat of running short of the necessary fuel to continue operating all of Manatee County’s 250 school buses. He said he’s been told the normal flow of fuel should resume in one week to two weeks.
However, Ross did say the cost for that fuel, which already was escalating, will almost certainly become more expensive.
“It looks like there is the potential for our fuel costs to go up 10 to 20 cents a gallon in the next several weeks,” Ross said.
Even though the school district gets a discount for buying fuel in large quantities, the costs are still high. The per-gallon cost for diesel fuel was $1.94 as of Tuesday. Last August, a gallon of diesel fuel cost the school district $1.22.
During the 2004-05 school year, Manatee County school buses logged close to 4 million miles, consuming 564,958 gallons of diesel fuel, costing about $997,097.
Local school buses are expected to log a similar number of miles this school year. If the current cost of diesel fuel held firm, the school district would spend more than $1.2 million on diesel fuel this school year.
In addition, the district has a fleet of maintenance and other support vehicles that run on gasoline. In August 2004, a gallon of gasoline cost the district $1.36. As of Tuesday, the district was paying $2.02 per gallon.
The estimated gasoline cost for the district at the current price would be $193,838 this school year, Ross said.
Most problematic for the school district, diesel and gas prices are certain to keep rising.
“It is staggering to try and maintain a budget because as we sit here today the prices are going up,” Ross said. “Superintendent (Roger) Dearing, (Assistant Superintendent for Finance) Tim McGonegal and the school board are working diligently to make sure we have the funding to have the fuel we need.”
School board Chairman Walter Miller said Hurricane Katrina will affect fuel costs.
“It’s kind of hard to talk about this with all of the human suffering going on, but it’s a reality,” Miller said. “I’ve heard as much as 25 percent of fuel comes through ports and refineries in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, so this is going to have an impact on fuel.”
Miller said he hopes the state government will help local school districts deal with increased fuel costs.
“The state has already allocated money to the districts for transportation costs,” Miller said. “I hope the state steps up to help us, or this will be money that will come out of the classroom.”
The district does take steps to save on fuel costs.
Since 1999, the district has been buying buses with computers that electronically monitor fuel consumption. In addition, the district uses fuel additives and regular inspections to try to increase bus mileage, which runs from six to nine miles a gallon.
Last year, the Manatee County School Vehicle Maintenance Department was named one of the top 10 in the country, according to School Bus Fleet Magazine.
As chairman of the Product Evaluation Committee for Florida, Ross said he stays up to date on ways to save on fuel costs.
“My phone has been ringing off the hook for new technology that is coming in such as a fuel additives and new catalytic converters,” Ross said. “We are open to any new technology.”
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