By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

As wheels on area school buses again go around and around, and as fuel prices go up and up, the effect may be dizzying for local school district officials, especially as work begins on next year's school budgets.

Since the recent spike, diesel prices have been hovering around $3 a gallon for the average consumer, though some federal and state taxes are waived for public school busses, allowing savings of about 40 cents on a gallon of diesel. As school buses typically get four to eight miles to the gallon, the current rates may soon evaporate transportation budgets around the state.

"We know we're going to have to make some tough decisions," said Darrell Lockwood, superintendent of SAU 19, serving Goffstown, Dunbarton and New Boston. "The price right now is absolutely higher than what we expected."

SAU 19, like many area districts, don't own their own buses, but rather have a contract with Goffstown Truck Center. The company provides buses to towns including Hooksett, Goffstown, Bedford, Weare, Auburn, Candia, Dunbarton, and New Boston.

Each school board has its own contract with the company, within which a price cap is set. If Goffstown Truck Center buys fuel above the capped price, school districts cover the difference. Market prices currently sit about a dollar over what most districts have covered.

"There were times, in the good old days, that we've gotten refunds," said Jim Crane, business administrator for SAU 24, serving Weare, Henniker and Stoddard. "That's definitely out of the question this year."

Some districts, like Bow, that own and maintain their own bus fleet, are feeling a more direct impact from the rising fuel prices. Bow School District Superintendent Kathleen Holt said $66,320 was allotted in this year's diesel line.

Though the figure is considerably higher than last year's, Holt said it won't likely hold out. As a result, Holt said, a special transportation committee meeting has been called, though, she said, "we haven't had to make any cuts yet."

While school buses consume their fair share of fuel, many officials are worried that the high fuel prices can have wideranging impacts.

"Things like the cost of shipping are much higher," said Crane. "In a sense, that can mean instead of buying 10 books, you buy eight and hope you can get by."

Bedford School District Assistant Superintendent of Finance Tim Mayes echoed similar concerns.

"Anything that's shipped by truck is going to be impacted," he said. "I think, with the cost of deliveries, this is going to affect a lot of goods and services."

Mayes said he's more concerned about the price of heating oil. Like many area districts, Bedford has locked into a rate for heating oil for the year, though those rates are still higher than anticipated when school budgets were finalized earlier this year.

"It was still well above what we'd budgeted, and we thought we'd budgeted pretty aggressively," said Mayes of the district's $1.92 rate through Aug. 31.

Crane said he expects heating oil to exceed the district's budget by about $10,000 to $15,000.

"It's definitely got me concerned," he said.

As school district officials are now looking to build budgets for next year, many are distressed about the volatility of the market.

"Like a lot of people, we've heard everything from prices (of diesel) not going up much, to going up to $6 a gallon," said Holt.

Karen Lessard, business administrator for the Hooksett School District, serving Hooksett, Auburn and Candia, said, "We're going to have to watch and see if this is a little blip, or if these prices are going to stay around for a while."

If nothing else, school officials throughout the area are keeping a closer eye on fuel expenditures.

"I'm going to track this very carefully," said Lockwood. "I want to make sure there are no surprises."

Next week: A look at how gas prices are affecting town budgets.