SCHUMER REVEALS: FUEL COSTS FOR NYC AREA SCHOOL BUSES UP SHOCKING 70 PERCENT - MOST CLUNKER SCHOOL BUSES IN USE ONLY GET SIX MILES PER GALLON!
Cutbacks Already Affecting Suburban Schools, NYC Could be Next - Thousands of NYC and LI Schools Buses Guzzling Diesel at Record Rates and Prices
Schumer Unveils Plan to Help City and Local Govt's Phase in New Hybrid School Buses that are Twice as Efficient to Help Reduce Costs - Avoid Property Tax Hikes on Long Island
Schumer: It's Not Just Homes Feeling the Pi
As New York City area school districts welcome students back this week, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today detailed how the skyrocketing cost of diesel will wreak havoc on school budgets in New York City and Long Island. School bus operating companies have already seen their fuel costs just by more than 70 percent in just the last year as the price of a barrel of oil has reached unimaginable heights. With New York City operating more than 6,400 school buses city wide, fuel costs will have jumped more than $3,200 per bus. On Long Island, costs for school districts will increase by more than $24 million. To help ease the pain for school bus companies, the City, and local governments across the area, Schumer unveiled his plan to help school transportation become more fuel efficient by alleviating some of the upfront cost burden of purchasing hybrid buses, which get significantly better gas mileage than a standard yellow bus. On Long Island only, individual school districts have reported seeing their fuel costs jump by more than $600,000 last year alone.
“No school should have to make a choice between books and transporting kids. Diesel fuel costs are slamming school districts and placing too heavy of a burden on our schools’ budgets,” Schumer said. “An enhanced hybrid school bus tax credit will ease some of that burden so that schools can put resources where it matters: towards our kids’ education.”
In June 2005, it cost $4,644 per year pay for diesel fuel a single bus, but in 2008-2009, that will cost an astounding $7,866 to run a single bus for the entire year. This translates to an additional $20 million in fuel costs for bus companies across the city and an increase of $3,222 per bus. Across the state, contractors will pay $47 million more for diesel this year than they did in 2005. In June 2005, the date when most existing school bus contracts were signed, the average price of diesel fuel was $2.32 per gallon. As of April of this year, it was $3.93 per gallon, a 70% increase.
On Long Island, the problem is more acute because school districts pay for fuel directly out of their budgets every year. There are approximately 7,560 school buses now operating on Long Island with the total cost for diesel up $23.4 million, up from $35.1 million total in 2005.
Specific school districts have reported enormous increases in their annual budgets for fuel. The AmityvilleSchool District in SuffolkCounty had a transportation budget last year of $3,000,000. For the upcoming school year it has jumped to $4,000,000, a difference of $1,000,000. There is also a million dollar budget increase in the LawrenceSchool District in NassauCounty. In the LevittownSchool District in NassauCounty, the budget for the 2007-2008 school year was $6,812,590, for the upcoming school year the budget has jumped almost $1.3 million to $8,082,571, while the projected costs are actually $8,282,571.
Some school districts own and operate their own school buses, while others use contractors. However, even those who use contractors are often responsible for paying fuel expenses. The New York State Pupil Transportation agency estimates that 83% of school districts pay for fuel expenses, either because they own and operate their own fleets or due to their contractual agreement with a bus company.
Rising fuel costs are taking such a toll on school system budgets that they are taking drastic measures to conserve energy, including consolidating bus routes, removing bus stops, eliminating or modifying extracurricular and athletic offerings, and in some cases even eliminating personnel positions, according to a new survey by the American Association of School Administrators. Schumer noted that while the short-term solutions are critical to saving fuel costs, more needs to be done to help schools cope with the rising costs of fuel.
According to the study, 59% of school districts nationwide are implementing energy conservation measures and 44% are cutting back on student field trips, 37% are cutting back on heating and air condition use. Moreover, 31% of school districts reported cutting back on buying supplies, while 29% said they are delaying non-essential facility upgrades and repairs. Twenty-nine percent of the school districts said they are eliminating or modifying instructional personnel positions and 21% said they are eliminating or modifying administrative personnel positions.
Peter Silverman, attorney for the New York City School Bus Contractors Coalition, said the following, “In recent months, we have had to layoff drivers, temporarily cut our nonessential workforce, and for some companies, close shop and go out of business. In the meantime, school systems are packing buses with the growing population of school children who are forced to endure longer rides to school and uncertain schedules. The fuel crisis is everybody's crisis, and we are extremely grateful to Senator Schumer and share his enthusiasm to find real solutions that will safely and efficiently drive us all into the future.”
To help ease the pain on local school districts, Schumer announced a plan to help school transportation become more fuel efficient by alleviating some of the upfront cost burden of purchasing hybrid buses, which get significantly better gas mileage than a standard yellow bus. Schumer’s enhanced Hybrid Tax Credit proposal would expand upon a credit in current law by taking into account a far greater percentage of the cost difference between a regular bus and a hybrid bus when calculating the credit. To provide some immediate relief to the hardest-hit school districts, Senator Schumer is introducing the School Energy Crisis Relief Act of 2008. The legislation would help the hardest hit districts by authorizing the U.S. Secretary of Energy to provide emergency energy grants to school districts that are struggling with the added and unexpected costs their system must assume due to the recent spike in fuel costs.
Recognizing the difficulties faced by school districts and providing a new incentive for districts to upgrade their school bus fleets and save money on fuel, Schumer’s enhanced Hybrid Tax Credit bill increases the maximum incremental cost for school buses in the existing hybrid credit by 200 percent next year, 150 percent in 2010, 100 percent in 2011, and 50 percent in 2012.
Hybrid buses can save school districts a considerable amount of money. Traditional yellow school buses are able to travel approximately 6 to 8 miles per gallon, depending on the route, while hybrid buses can get up to 12 miles per gallon. If the New York City area switched its entire fleet of buses to hybrid models, the city would save approximately $3,300 per bus during the 2008-2009 school year as a result of higher fuel economy. While the upfront costs of purchasing a hybrid vehicle are substantial, the long-term cost savings can lift a significant burden from school district budgets.
The current law bases the available tax credit on the weight and fuel economy of the bus. Because most hybrid buses weigh under 26,000 pounds, the maximum credit under current law for them is just $6,000. However, hybrid buses can cost upwards of $100,000 more than a regular diesel bus. That cost differential is too great for many school districts to consider replacing yellow diesel buses with hybrid models, even with the tax credit. While advances in technology are expected to substantially lower the price of hybrid buses in the coming years, schools need fuel price relief and affordable options now. Schumer’s proposal will expand the current tax credit for hybrid buses to make hybrids more affordable today. For instance, under Schumer’s proposal, the maximum credit for a 24,000 pound hybrid school bus will increase to $18,000 next year, three times the current credit.
While a nontaxable entity like a school district can’t take advantage of the hybrid bus tax credit, the bill requires that the credit be transferred to the buyer in cases where the buses are purchased directly by the district. The transfer of the credit is worked right into the sales contract to ensure that the savings get passed on to the school district.
To provide some immediate relief to the hardest-hit school districts, Senator Schumer introduced the School Energy Crisis Relief Act of 2008. The legislation would help the hardest hit districts by authorizing the U.S. Secretary of Energy to provide emergency energy grants to school districts that are struggling with the added and unexpected costs their system must assume due to the recent spike in fuel costs. Each eligible school district (to be eligible, schools must be considered low-income by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) would submit an application to the Department of Energy in order to participate in a competitive grant process. The Department of Energy will review the applications and provide grants to high-need districts in all 50 states, and will determine the total amount received in each State based on a State’s total population of youth ages 5-17 and their regional fuel cost (as a comparison of the national average fuel cost). The total amount of grant awards that a Secretary makes in each State must equal, in the aggregate, the amount originally determined for that State. The determination of each State’s total will be made using the most recent data from the U.S. Census and the Energy Information Administration (U.S. Department of Energy).
