LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — As this school year comes to a close and a three-year fuel contract comes to an end, Hempfield School District is preparing for student transportation to become a lot pricier next fall.
"We had to rebid going into next school year and because of the market, our rates are going up 67%," said Derrick Frank, the director of transportation for Hempfield School District.
Frank says the district is looking looking for ways to soften the blow.
“We can try to minimize miles, reduce the number of stops, [or] potentially have the students walk a little bit farther to reduce mileage," said Frank.
The district runs 80 vehicles on a daily basis to meet transportation needs.
“We have already maximized, in my mind, the efficiencies that we can get," said Frank. "Due to our growing student population, we actually need to add some of those vehicles back.”
Most of the district's busses run on propane, which is actually helping keep costs down.
“What we’re paying for propane at $1.45 and some change per gallon is pennies compared to what some districts are paying for diesel," explained Frank.
He says the rising price of fuel is still expected to make an impact on the district’s bottom line.
“It is bidded for the next so that is an increased item on our budget that we can’t really avoid," said Frank.
Frank says the state only reimburses 40% of fuel costs.
“[That means the] remaining 60 cents on a dollar have to get passed through the school tax," he explained. "Increased expenses are going to increase to the local taxpayer.”
The district's new contract is for two years.
“In the second year, they are expecting prices to come down a certain percentage but really never to go back to what they were," said Frank.