subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite map
Sat, Nov 21 2009 

Published May 11, 2008 09:32 pm - OKLAHOMA CITY — Superintendent Jim McCharen would like to hire 10 new teachers for his Choctaw-Nicoma Park Public School District to keep pace with a growing student population and keep class sizes down in the suburban Oklahoma City district.
But McCharen won’t hire any new teachers for the upcoming school year as he struggles to keep the district’s yellow school buses on the road and joins a growing list of school administrators across the state who are sapping money from the classroom to keep up with skyrocketing fuel prices.


Rising fuel costs sap Oklahoma schools



The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — Superintendent Jim McCharen would like to hire 10 new teachers for his Choctaw-Nicoma Park Public School District to keep pace with a growing student population and keep class sizes down in the suburban Oklahoma City district.

But McCharen won’t hire any new teachers for the upcoming school year as he struggles to keep the district’s yellow school buses on the road and joins a growing list of school administrators across the state who are sapping money from the classroom to keep up with skyrocketing fuel prices.

“We have to cut programs just to buy gas. That’s where it gets very frustrating. We get very angry about it,” said McCharen, whose 4,800-student district encompasses about 60 square miles east of Oklahoma City.

The district’s annual fuel budget totaled $225,000 three years ago, when prices averaged a little more than $2 a gallon. This year, the budget is around $350,000.

“It rolls downhill to the classroom,” McCharen said. “Sometimes, the belt-tightening choices should not be on the back of our school kids.”

With the price of regular gasoline approaching $3.50 a gallon and diesel fuel even higher, school districts are looking for new ways to trim transportation costs and save money in order to continue busing students to and from school.

School districts are re-examining their transportation policies and staffing levels after the Legislature did not grant an increase in school operational expenses that was requested by Superintendent of Schools Sandy Garrett.

“We can’t continue to offer all the services we’ve always offered and function without losing money,” said Terry Simpson, superintendent of Guthrie Public Schools. It typically costs hundreds of dollars to fill up the fuel tank of a school bus, which gets less than 10 miles per gallon of fuel.

“We’ve got to do something to be more efficient with this,” Simpson said.

This fall, the 3,300-student district will implement a new transportation policy that does away with bus routes for students who live within 1.5 miles of the school they attend — a policy that has already been implemented by school districts in Claremore, Crescent, Norman, Sapulpa and Moore, Simpson said.

Students who live outside that boundary will continue to be bussed but will be picked up and dropped off only at designated sites and buses will no longer stop at individual students’ homes.

Those inside the boundary will walk or bike to school or be transported with private transportation.

Announcement of the transportation policy was posted on the school district’s Web site after it was approved by Guthrie’s Board of Education last month. It said Guthrie schools received $131,142 in state funds this year to pay for transporting students but that actual costs for the year will be between $900,000 and $1 million.

“The Guthrie Board of Education realizes that school bus transportation has become an integral part of the modern day educational process,” the Web site states. “At the same time, the state of Oklahoma has determined that school bus transportation is to be considered a privilege and not a right of the students attending the state’s public schools.”



print this story    email this story    comment on this story   

Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.


Add a comment on this story







autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide

Announcements



Click here to VOTE!!

Click here!!

: Special Offer For New Subscribers : 32 buy 1 get 1 free offers

Click Here!




Featured Jobs

EXPERIENCED FULL TIME AUTO TECH
EXPERIENCED Full time Auto Repair Tech for very busy repair shop! Apply at Iveys Service Center, 301 E. 7th, Joplin...>MORE

WALLER TRUCK COMPANY
Waller Truck Company is now seeking Company and Lease Drivers. Call Recruting today at 1-800-821-2196 or apply today onl...>MORE

EXPERIENCED TAX PREPARERS,
enrolled agents and CPAs. Make extra money after the holidays with very flexible scheduling and top pay working for the ...>MORE

BODY TECHNICIAN
Carthage AUTO PLAZA is looking for a body technician/painter. I-Car certification is required. Come by and fill out an a...>MORE

CMA
cma with insulin certification. Whispering Pines, (417)781-0099....>MORE

OPIES TRANSPORT
Opies TRANSPORT Now Hiring Over the Road Drivers with 2 years experience. 800-341-9963 www.opiestransport.com ...>MORE

DRIVER LONG HAUL
Driver, long haul or regional, for small Joplin company, home weekly, good pay and benefits, must have 3 years verifiabl...>MORE

TRAVEL U.S.A.
TRAVEL U.S.A. Publication sales company hiring 18 sharp enthusiastic individuals to travel the U.S. Travel, training, l...>MORE

ROUTE REPRESENTATIVE
Route REPRESENTATIVE Odor control and commercial hygiene service route. Monday-Friday. Benefits, incentives, company v...>MORE

CLASS A OVER THE ROAD DRIVERS
CLASS A OVER THE ROAD DRIVERS for team operations. Kansas City based, home weekly, all drop and hook. $.46/mile to the t...>MORE

See all ads

Featured Transportation

MERCUR 2001 GRAND MARQUIS LS
mercury, 2001 Grand Marquis LS, 69,500 miles, $6800/offer. (417)214-3265....>MORE

CHEVROLET 2002 EXTENDED CAB
CHEVROLET, 2002 Extended cab, lots of options, work truck, $5900 (417)483-1386....>MORE

MAZDA, 1996 626,
4 door, sharp, $1875
loaded automatic, fancy wheels. 437-4424
...>MORE

CHEVROLET, 2005 2500 HEAVY-DUTY,
extended cab, 4x4, 1-owner, 58,000 miles, white/gray interior, excellent condition, $17,000. 417-548-2169, 417-392-0455....>MORE

1993 BLAZER, TAHOE
1993 Blazer, Tahoe, 4x4, full size, 2 door, needs engine, loaded, $1500. 208-6717...>MORE

SAAB, 1999 SE,
4-cylinder, convertible, all power, 74,000 miles $4800. 417-423-0125...>MORE

MITSUBISHI, 1998 DIAMANTE,
129,000 miles, runs perfect, $2900. 417-423-0125....>MORE

VOLKSWAGEN 2006 CONVERTIBLE
Volkswagen 2006 convertible, 13,000 miles, perfect condition $15,500 206-6809...>MORE

JEEP, 2007 COMMANDER,
loaded, 22,000 miles, $12,950. 417-781-1409, 529-5606...>MORE

FORD, 1993 TAURUS
ford, 1993 Taurus, cruise, tilt, air, nice, $1250. (417)434-7382....>MORE

See all ads

Featured Homes

2 BR COTTAGE
2 BR COTTAGE, small but cute, all electric, small down, $450. Owner finance. 609 W. 15th. 417-439-4104....>MORE

OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY 1-5 P.M.
OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY 1-5 p.m. New construction, 3 BR, 2 BA, 3 car garage, newer neighborhood, mature trees, 3 minutes from...>MORE

3BR, ALBA
3 BR, 1 ba, 1 car gar, large fenced yard, Alba $550+ deposit. Hud ok 417-540-4674...>MORE

Deerfield Estates
in Carl Junction, prime building sites, reduced $10,000 each. 417-825-0052...>MORE

525 E 41ST FOR SALE AT AUCTION
525 E. 41ST, Joplin, MO will be offered for sale at Auction
Saturday, December 5th 9:30 AM AAA Auctions Bob 417-
...>MORE

ATTRACTIVE 4 BR ORONOGO
attractive, comfortable 4 br, 3 ba, 2-level, 2600 sq. ft. home. Greystone Subdivision, $194,900. 103 Jason Blvd., Oronog...>MORE

2802 MASSACHUSETTS, JOPLIN
2802 Massachusetts, Joplin You won't believe the price! 3 bedroom, new central heat and air, new roof, appliances.. Cl...>MORE

2 BR, 1 BA,
excellent location, 208 E. Lexington, Jasper, $325. (417)830-0873....>MORE

LEASE/PURCHASE
Executive Home, 4 br, 3 ba, 3000 sq. ft. on 5 acres. 605-521-0971...>MORE

See all ads

Other Cool Stuff

NICE BEAGLE PUPS,
shots/wormed, $35/$40. Delivered? (417)439-3647...>MORE

KENMORE GAS RANGE
Kenmore gas range; G.E. portable dishwasher, $150 each; both are 3 years old (417)624-4546, (417)439-9740...>MORE

BOXER PUPPIES
BOXERS PUPPIES, registered, parents on site, $200. 918)257-4153....>MORE

COCKER SPANIEL PUPPIES
COCKER SPANIEL Puppies For SALE. Registered with shots, Buff Color. Call for Information (620)-856-1946...>MORE

YORKIE WORLD HOLIDAY SALE
Yorkie WORLD. HOLIDAY SALE Males $150-$250; females, $350 and up. 417-258-7171....>MORE

SIBERIAN HUSKY
Siberian Husky - female, 2 years old; Husky mix - female, 2 years old. Both spayed, housebroken, and vaccinated. Very en...>MORE

DOBERMAN PUP
Doberman pup, ACA, black/tan, male, 11 weeks, neutered. (620)922-3531....>MORE

BUY NOW,
small down, rest with tax return, vet checked/shots, small Chihuahua’s. (417)439-3647...>MORE

WHITE WICKER HENRY LINK SOFA
White wicker Henry Link sofa, Pier 1 wicker love seat and chair, Singer sewing machine in cabinet, large picture, floor ...>MORE

GORGEOUS OAK POOL TABLE
GORGEOUS oak pool table, 2 inch slate, pearl inlays, bear claw legs; new rare neon beer sign. (417)483-6719....>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index

 

 

The Joplin Globe Electronic Edition