Schools Pay More to Bus Students

School is starting this week in many districts. And higher fuel prices are leading many districts to re-think how they get students to school. The Plum Borough School District is spending 54 percent more on transportation this year. In North Allegheny, school lunch prices are increasing to help the district pay for fuel. Some districts in other parts of the state are ending after-school service or charging students for field trips. Selina Pittenger with the Pennsylvania School Bus Association says the state should step in to help. She says the Department of Education’s school funding formula has not been changed to reflect higher fuel prices. Pittenger says school bus contractors have also been absorbing some of the extra cost. If some of them have to shut down, she says it could jeopardize student safety and increase traffic as more parents have to drive their children to school.