Food, fuel prices force schools to get creative

by Darla Hernandez (darlah@wsbt.com)

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School districts try to conserve fuel in wake of rising gas prices

The Penn Harris Madison school district is combining bus routes, reducing idling time, and minimizing the number of left turns they make, all in an effort to conserve fuel in the face of rising prices. (WSBT photo)

By Tiffany Griffin

Story Created: Jul 10, 2008 at 10:18 AM EST

Story Updated: Jul 15, 2008 at 11:41 PM EST

ST. JOSEPH CO. — The pain at the pump is hitting local schools' bus budgets big time, and fuel isn't the only soaring item they have to worry about. Rising food costs are landing on school lunch trays across the nation and here locally.

That’s forcing school districts like Penn Harris Madison to get creative in order to cut costs.

PHM has combined bus routes, reduced idling time to no longer than five minutes and they are making sure their bus tires are properly inflated. But with $800,000 budgeted for transportation, rising fuel costs mean they have to look at even more ways to cut costs.

“[We're looking at] possibly increasing the charge that we have for the field trips,” said PHM Transportation Director Henry Lohmeyer. “We’re trying to maximize every route by making as many right hand turns as possible to lessen the amount of time we’d have to wait to make a left hand turn. So in doing that we hope to conserve some fuel.”

It's not just the gas gouge; the district is also facing fierce food prices.

"I know that bread is going to be a big deal,” said PHM Director of Food Services Jill Riggs. “We have already gotten our bread bid and I have looked at that one — bread’s going to go up 10 percent."

Last year school lunches went up a dime. There will be no increase this year, but with 5,000 meals served daily, Riggs says buying in bulk is better business.

“The more volume that we have the more money that we are bringing in as well as the more food that we’re buying. The more food you buy from a distributor the less they’re willing to charge you per item,” explained Riggs. “We may end up making more from scratch than we even do now because that will keep costs down.”

Another issue eating away at Riggs’ budget is meal mandates.

“We have to fit in with all the USDA guidelines and all the wellness programs,” she said. “It should be interesting this year.”

Also interesting is what may be ahead: Their yellow buses may soon turn ‘green.’

"We are looking at biodiesel to see if it's a good fit for our fleet,” Lohmeyer said.

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