Ed Jamison |
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
By JOEL TURNER - Staff Writer
School Board Member Ed Jamison said the looming budget crunch for Franklin County schools in the next fiscal year might prompt the school system to eliminate its dual busing system.
"We are getting down to the point where we might have no other options," said Jamison, the Blue Ridge District member.
The school system operates a dual routing system, which serves the 12 elementary schools with local routes and the middle and high schools with countywide routes.
The elementary students ride on separate buses from the middle and high school students.
At a recent school board workshop, Jamison said the
budget crunch is so severe that school officials might have to eliminate its dual busing system to save money.
If the dual system is eliminated, Jamison said, no bus drivers would lose their jobs because they could be used as bus monitors.
The monitors could help ensure that elementary, middle and high school students could ride together on the same buses without problems, he said.
"I think that having bus monitors on the buses would drastically reduce discipline problems we have on buses,"ļ¾ Jamison.
With the current dual bus system, he said, there are discipline problems. But placing more monitors on buses would help reduce discipline issues, he added.
The elimination of the dual system could also save costs for diesel, gasoline, tires, parts and other expenses, Jamison said.
He estimates it could eliminate 10 to 20 bus routes.
The school system's transportation budget is $5.8 million this fiscal year. Of that amount, $3.6 million is earmarked for salaries and fringe benefits for bus drivers, mechanics, bus monitors, trainers and supervisors.
The cost for gasoline, diesel, motor oil, tires and parts is budgeted at $1.5 million this fiscal year.
Jamison thinks that the elimination of the dual system could save at least $500,000 to $750,000 a year. In a tight budget year, Jamison said those savings will be needed.
Jamison said the school system could save money because it would have to buy fewer replacement school buses each year.
The elimination of the dual system will also have another benefit, he added. With the current system, elementary students get home in the afternoon 30 to 45 minutes sooner than middle and high school. When both parents work, many elementary children are at home alone until older brothers and sisters arrive home from school, he said.
From a childcare standpoint, it would better for elementary, middle and high school students to arrive home at the same time, so the older students can care for their younger siblings, Jamison said.
"There could be positive benefits" aside from the savings by eliminating the dual system, he said.
Some other school board members said the budget crunch might be so severe in the next fiscal year that they may have to consider the busing issue.
"It might be something that we have to look at," said board member P.D. Hambrick.
The schools could face a cut of $2.5 million to $3 million in the school budget for the next fiscal year, Superintendent Charles Lackey said.
Lee Cheatham, director of business and finance, said the school system is facing several unusual financial challenges in the next fiscal year, in addition to the weak economy.
A change in the local composite index for Franklin County means that the schools will be receiving nearly $600,000 less in state funds for schools next year, Cheatham said. County schools will also receive $400,000 less federal stimulus funds in the next fiscal year.
An increase in the number of school employees who enrolled in the school division's group health insurance plan during the past year will cause a $545,000 increase in costs for the school system in the next fiscal year, Cheatham said. The schools are also facing an increase of $200,000 in the next year for electrical service. |
