Beleaguered districts cut back on school buses

Faced with soaring diesel fuel costs, school districts are forcing students to use the old-fashioned way to get to class: their own two feet.

Many schools are eliminating or reducing bus service because of fuel prices' jump to $4.50 per gallon, 36 percent more than a year ago.

In California, districts are eliminating busing for thousands of students. Districts in Washington state, Idaho and Maryland are consolidating bus stops, canceling field trips and forcing students to walk longer distances to school to control costs.

"If you remove a school bus from the road, you're adding 40 to 50 cars in the morning and in the afternoon," said Bob Riley, spokesman for the American School Bus Council, which represents school transportation officials.

Major cuts loom in California, where schools are not required to provide transportation. As a result, districts squeezed by fuel prices and fewer state dollars are trimming millions from transportation budgets.

Leaders in some California communities have threatened lawsuits. While cutting bus service is unpopular, officials say it is better than firing teachers and increasing class sizes.

"Our goal was to keep those cuts as far away from the classroom as possible," said Julie Hatchell, a spokeswoman for the Capistrano United School District. *