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By Alia Shoaib
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Soaring diesel prices are putting mounting pressure on school districts and school bus contractors responsible for transporting millions of students across the country each day.
Officials in multiple states have warned that the rising cost of fuel could force districts to make cuts elsewhere in their budgets, while one bus contractor says she may be forced to stop operating.
Eighty-seven percent of the country’s 480,000 school buses run on diesel, meaning school districts are heavily impacted by rising costs.
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More than 25 million children rely on school buses across the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Record-High Diesel Prices
Diesel prices have reached an all-time high, driven largely by the war with Iran, which has disrupted global oil supplies.
Diesel fuel is currently averaging around $6.52 a gallon nationally, up from around $5.60 a month ago, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). That is substantially higher than the average of roughly $3.70 a year ago.
Trump has said that oil prices may not fall until after the November midterm elections.
Schools have already been under pressure from rising diesel prices, even before the recent spike.
A May survey by organizations representing school superintendents and school transportation officials found that 56 percent of districts surveyed said they were already running over their budget for diesel. Around 40 percent said they had consolidated bus routes to manage costs, 25 percent said they had reduced the number of routes, and 20 percent had limited nonessential trips such as field trips.
Tennessee
In Rutherford County, Tennessee, bus contractor Sandra Davis said rising fuel costs could force her to stop operating, as steep expenses have left her living paycheck to paycheck.
Davis, who owns and operates buses for Rutherford County Public Schools along with her husband, told WSMV that she recently paid $1,980 to fuel five buses.
She said she is seeking additional funding from the school board to help offset the rising costs.
Meanwhile, efforts to provide some relief at the state level have so far fallen short. A proposal for temporary gas tax relief introduced by state lawmakers in March failed to pass during the state's last legislative session.
Colorado
Cherry Creek Schools in Colorado, which operates more than 300 buses serving about 24,000 students, is also grappling with rising fuel costs.
Mark Ingram, the district's director of transportation, told CBS News that they are now forecast to spend between $ 2 and $ 2.3 million on fuel this year, while they had budgeted for $1.5 million.
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Ingram said the district is looking at ways to absorb the higher fuel costs, including consolidating some bus routes and reducing extracurricular activity, although no significant changes have been decided on.
As part of a longer-term plan, the district is also introducing six electric buses into its fleet, which Ingram said could help reduce fuel costs.
Alabama
Alabama state superintendent Eric Mackey also told WSFA that rising fuel costs are putting pressure on school transportation budgets.
School buses in the state transport more than 330,000 students each day.
Alabama lawmakers increased the transportation operations budget by 25 percent for the 2027 fiscal year, to $532 million.
“Had we not had that huge increase from the legislature, I don’t know how we’d make it through this school year,” Mackey said.
The increase has eased pressure on districts for now, but Mackey said the state will likely seek additional funding for the rest of the fiscal year. He also warned that districts could eventually have to cut other spending to cover the higher transportation costs.
The Electric-Bus Dilemma
The diesel spike would seemingly make electric school buses more attractive, as they do not require fuel and could, in theory, reduce costs over time.
But some districts are finding that electric vehicles can bring their own challenges, like technical malfunctions, limited range, and high initial purchase costs, as the New York Times has reported.
As a result, some districts are retiring their vehicles, scaling back plans to buy more, or limiting them to shorter routes, the outlet said.
Some officials have said that they hope advancements in electric vehicle technology will make such a shift more plausible in the future.
Victoria McLaren, the superintendent of Onteora, New York, told The Times that the lengthy time needed to charge electric buses and the potential pressure on the local electric grid means they are not suitable for the time being.
“We have looked at it as something that we support philosophically,” McLaren said. “But it does not appear to be something that is viable.”
As diesel costs continue to climb, school districts are being left to weigh up the best courses of action to keep costs down and still get children to school.
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