TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — By the time you read this, some area students have already boarded a big, yellow school bus, bound for their first day of classes.

What many may not understand is how lucky those students are to have a bus filled with fuel to ride.

Skyrocketing fuel costs are taking a toll on school districts statewide, and some schools are opting to curtail routes, or centralize pick-up spots to save precious funds.

According to a recent report by the Associated Press, the Oklahoma Legislature passed a $7.1 billion budget for the current fiscal year – something many are calling a “standstill budget,” despite rising costs.

State Superintendent Sandy Garrett told the AP running school buses has reached a critical state, and that state education officials will report monthly to the Board of Education on the situation.

Estimated fuel costs for state school districts for the 2008-’09 school year will be more than $58 million.

However, the amount appropriated by the Legislature for transportation covers less than half the cost, at $24.6 million.

Things aren’t much different here in Cherokee County.

Tahlequah Public Schools Executive Director of Technology and Operations Terry Garrett said I-35 is continuing to review ways cut costs.

“We’ve refilled our large commercial fuel tank once since May,” said Garrett. “We normally run a 3-to-1 ratio of diesel to unleaded. Unfortunately, diesel is the more expensive fuel to run, and we’re paying about 40 cents more per gallon now than we were in May. We’re very good at getting competitive pricing. We don’t sign on with just one vendor, but get comparative prices from four different vendors before making each purchase.”

Garrett said TPS fills that tank 10 to 12 times during a school year, and the most recent cost was $33,451. The overall fuel budget for the entire school year could average about $250,000 to $300,000.

“We are still working on our transportation software, trying to streamline the process,” said Garrett. “Our routes are still a work in progress, and we’ll be aided when the drivers return to help us iron out the wrinkles with the rural 911 addresses.”

Garrett said TPS runs approximately 16 routes right now, covering 600 square miles.

“If we can consolidate some of those stops or routes without causing undue inconvenience to parents, we may do that,” he said. “It’s not a change I’m comfortable making just yet. I understand that other, metropolitan districts may be making changes, but I’m not sure what actual monetary value that may provide. We’re trying to provide service to families, while still making an effort at conserving resources.”

Hulbert Public Schools will have a number of new students this year, following the closing of Lost City School. Superintendent Wayne Ryals recognizes this may present problems when it comes to transportation.

“We have a situation we haven’t had to deal with before in that we’re going to have so many new students from the Lost City consolidation,” said Ryals. “We already run two routes out that direction for the junior high and high school students. We’re just going to have to wait until after school starts to see how many more we’re going to have, and whether that’s going to affect the way we’re already doing things.

“We may have to ask parents to drive their children a short distance to a central location, instead of picking them up at individual homes.”

In addition to the Lost City routes, Hulbert runs four other bus routes, which Ryals indicated will probably stay the same.

“We’ll look to conserve fuel costs by cutting back on field trips and things of that nature,” he said.

Robert Harbuck, who handles transportation for Keys Public Schools, said his district runs six buses at a cost of $240 per bus, per day, or $1,440 total on a daily basis.