The Vanishing School Bus
At around 7:00 in the morning we used to see the school bus lumber down the street. It stopped at the corner and picked up a group of kids. With the grinding of gears and a belch of black smoke it turned the corner and headed for the next group of kids.
Those big yellow school buses have a major place in modern American lore. They were a target of protest back in the 60’s and 70’s after the Supreme Court mandated busing of inner city kids to rural schools.
I no longer see those yellow buses in our neighborhood.
With tight budgets and the rising cost of fuel, here in California they are going the way of the dodo bird. School districts around the country are getting tapped out due to fuel costs. A few quotes:
“In the Midwest, the average cost of a gallon of diesel fuel was $4.10 as of May 5. That’s a 50 percent increase from one year ago.” – Kansas City Community News
“From teachers and books to bus routes and field trips, the soaring price of fuel is causing school districts across the country to cut back – especially in more rural areas where the tax base small and the distance to bus students is large.” – CNN Money
“Establishing more safe walking paths, having fewer after-school activity buses and consolidating routes and stops are among the ways school districts are coping with high diesel prices.” – The Seattle Times
“Schools throughout the nation are also experiencing gas problems. Schools in places like Webster, Salmon, Idaho, and Brooksville, Fla., have been shortening their school week to four days in an effort to save fuel costs.” – The Ledger Independent, Maysville, KY
“When the $3 a gallon price was set a year ago, diesel was below $2.50 and most analysts never dreamed that prices would increase so much. In the last month of the school year, May prices for diesel started around $3.50 and were over $4 by the time school let out.
Every local school transportation official breathed a sigh of relief when the final bell rang in this school year.” – The Piedmont Journal, AL
Some rural districts are not hiring new teachers to replace retiring teachers due to increased fuel prices.
Only around 15% of students currently ride school buses in California. The majority of kids have to walk, bike, take public transportation, or get driven. We drive our son to school. It’s too far for him to walk or ride to. We also drive him and other kids on field trips. When he gets older, I expect he will take public transportation. I wouldn’t be surprised to either see more of this happen in the rest of the country, or see a resurgence of the one-room school house.
Stumble it!
lowmagnet:
So it seems that government has learned to externalize expense to parents just like big business has been externalizing expense to government and consumers lo this many years. Not running the bus somewhere doesn’t save the nation any fuel. Sure, it may save the district something, but it’s putting the burden on (sometimes poor) parents.
13 June 2008, 5:16 amRachel @ Master Your Card:
I have noticed similar things in the UK. We do not have school buses in the same way as you do, however most children used to walk to school. however, there are more and more parents driving their children to school. When I was at primary school all children in my class walked to and from school. When I started school we didn’t even have a family car (and I am only 35!). It is amazing how things have changed.
13 June 2008, 8:14 amBryce:
@lowmagnet – I agree that it does not save the nation any fuel and you are right that not supplying school buses passes the cost directly to parents.
The majority of school funding comes from local property taxes. Here in California, property taxes are capped by a proposition that passed back in 1978. Under Proposition 13, the annual real estate tax on a parcel of residential property is limited to 1% of its assessed value. This “assessed value,” however, may only be increased by a maximum of 2% per year. Additional “fees” put the total annual tax at around 1.4% of assessed value.
That means that school districts in California have fairly static budgets that can only go up by 2% per year, which is much less than inflation, let alone the huge increase we have seen in diesel and fuel costs in recent years. Without repealing Proposition 13 and increasing property taxes, something had to give. In our case, it has been school buses.
13 June 2008, 8:32 amBryce:
@Rachel – When I was young, I used to ride the school bus, or sometimes I walked or rode my bicycle. My family lived in a quiet residential area within 1 mile of my school back then.
When my wife and I moved to our current neighborhood, the elementary school was just around the block from our house. Unfortunately, they closed that school about 4 years ago and consolidated to a larger one. This was done in the name of cost savings. Our son’s school is now 2.5 miles away from our house with about 2 miles along a busy expressway. Side streets could be used, but there are many busy cross street intersections. Our 7 year old is still a little young to deal with all that on his own.
13 June 2008, 11:18 amCarnival of Personal Finance #157: Third Anniversary Edition - Consumerism Commentary: A Personal Finance Blog:
[...] from Save and Conquer presents The Vanishing School Bus, and says, “With tight budgets and the rising cost of fuel, here in California school buses [...]
16 June 2008, 6:02 amMonroe on a Budget » Carnival of Personal Finance 6/16:
[...] and Conquer presents The Vanishing School Bus: “We drive our son to school. It’s too far for him to walk or ride to. We also drive him [...]
16 June 2008, 7:17 pm