103 replacement school buses fall victim to budget ax
Plan to fit buses with fire-safety devices out of question this year
The Post and Courier
School Bus Breakdown
Read the series of stories from The Post and Courier on the state's aging and unsafe school bus fleet.
COLUMBIA — As the Legislature agreed to cut short the money needed to regularly replace the state's aged and unsafe school buses, it also set aside a proposal this year to buy new devices to put out fires in buses.
Legislators argue that their priorities are in order and say the state will be only 103 buses shy of the minimum needed to meet the newly approved 15-year replacement cycle.
But Sarah Cash, a mother of two and a PTA member at the Charleston County School of the Arts, is unhappy with the legislators' priorities. "I think it's a very unfortunate decision because it was important to get on that replacement schedule," she said. "I keep reading that revenue is down for this year, but I hate to see the cuts affect the children in ourstate. It's absolutely horrible that they would be riding on such bad buses anyway."
Lead budget writers Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, and Rep. Dan Cooper, R-Piedmont, said the state's budget, with upward of $100 million in new money for public schools, should send a strong message to parents about where legislators' priorities are.
Nearly every other agency took a cut in the budget, which passed the House and Senate on Thursday, as revenue fell millions of dollars lower than early projections.
That does not mean there's $100 million that could be used for buses, though. With more than 98 percent of the money flowing from the Education Department to the local districts for obligated expenses, wiggle room is scarce, said Jim Foster, agency director of communications.
The Legislature had earmarked $30 million for new buses, but that was cut to $10.6 million when economic projections worsened.
To stay on the 15-year cycle, the state needs to buy 380 buses each year. The first year's purchases exceeded the minimum required, bringing 527 new buses into the fleet. About $10 million would buy 130 new buses, leaving the replacement cycle 103 buses short for the two-year span.
At $80,000 a bus, the replacement cycle costs about $30 million a year.
One potential problem, Foster said, is that rising fuel costs might force the Education Department to dip into the allotted $10.6 million to keep diesel in the buses' tanks.
Given that diesel fuel has risen 47 cents in the last two weeks, the Education Department already is looking at an additional $6 million in expenses, and that's just to get the kids to and from school.
Every time diesel costs jump a penny, it costs $125,000 more to fuel the buses. The newer the bus, the more efficiently it burns fuel.
"We're disappointed, but at the same time, this is a tough budget year," Foster said. "It's certainly not one you can look at in isolation and say the General Assembly is going back on its commitment."
Still, if the bus funds are tapped for fuel, the state will be even further from meeting the second-year goal of the 15-year bus replacement cycle. The alternative would be to ask for approval to run a deficit or turn to local schools to cut costs.
Rep. Bob Walker, R-Landrum, one of the lead advocates for the replacement cycle, said he is discouraged by the news but blames the economy, not legislative choices.
"There are only so many dollars to spend," he said. "Next year, I will be fighting to get back on the cycle."
The Legislature started the phase-out after an investigation by The Post and Courier last year revealed South Carolina had the oldest, most polluting and most dangerous school bus fleet in the nation.
The series also found occasions of dozens of fires in the state's 1995 models, and the state temporarily sidelined all 2,000 of those models last year after a loose battery cable started a blaze that engulfed a Richland 2 school bus. Similar fires occurred in the Lowcountry and elsewhere in the state.
Sen. Linda Short, D-Chester, introduced a bill this month that would require all buses to be fitted with a fire-suppressant device.
It would cost an estimated $2.28 million to fit the 5,700 state-owned buses with the device, or $2.76 million in total to also fit the 1,200 district-owned school buses.
Still, Short acknowledged that the bill had no chance this year, her last in the Legislature. Given that funding is tight and that she did not learn of the device until late in the session, the legislation never had much life. She has a couple of other senators lined up to reintroduce the bill next year.
"I know money's tight," Short said. "To me, it should be a priority, even when money's tight."
Reach Yvonne Wenger at ywenger@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
moonpie (anonymous) says...
Let the little drlings ride old buses. We did and still were able to get an education.
Hey but the submarine Hunley looking good,just read that, they might be able to use it near water front schools? I bet it has a budget?!
May 23, 2008 at 6:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Hey_U_Guys (anonymous) says...
Yes, let's not replace the buses that are catching fire with brand new mechanically sound buses. Let's just buy the equipment needed to put out the fires as they occur...WTF?!?!?!?! Boy oh boy, I'll tell you. This state is sooooo ass backwards it's ridiculous. Well, I guess since the school transportation/bus taxes we all pay, regardless of whether or not we have a kid in school, aren't being used for school transportation/buses we should stop being taxed. Just like road taxes. It's funny how all of the money we pay in for things such as roads, school buses, and education just doesn't seem to be used on things like roads, school buses, and education.
May 23, 2008 at 7:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SCgal (anonymous) says...
Let's pay big bucks for A-1 Tire and build a park, delay school demo and construction while prices go up, up, up, and don't forget the Aquatic center and new gym/track but put our most prized possessions-~ the kids on faulty, old, dangerous school buses---> go figure!!
May 23, 2008 at 7:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Hey_U_Guys (anonymous) says...
In this article in today's paper http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/m... it talks about the $7 billion spending plan that's been approved to increase state employee's wages by 1%.
May 23, 2008 at 7:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
summerville_guy (anonymous) says...
I saw a school bus being hooked up to a tow truck on Rivers Avenue this morning. And why don't those things have seat belts if we have a seat belt law in our state?
May 23, 2008 at 8:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tammie (anonymous) says...
The buses we had when I was in school were in terrible condition but the funny thing is, certain seats had seatbelts. *shrug* But the state does need to focus on trying to get some better buses instead using money for other useless things.
May 23, 2008 at 8:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
suec (anonymous) says...
Read the article instead of going with just the headlines people...
"To stay on the 15-year cycle, the state needs to buy 380 buses each year. The first year's purchases exceeded the minimum required, bringing 527 new buses into the fleet."
So they are still ahead of schedule right?
It also talks abouthe cost of fuel and that they had to factor that in to the budget.
This is a state budget issue right? I beleiev A-1, the aquatic center etc are local?
May 23, 2008 at 8:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
greyrider (anonymous) says...
Maybe they should just go back to having the kids walk 5 miles to school....each way...uphill...killing rabbits for food along the way.
BTW, I belong to the NRA and no, we don't need a 2nd Amendment weekend, just having the 2nd Amendment is enough for me. I'll gladly pay the tax if a kid gets to ride a safe bus.
May 23, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ptmama73 (anonymous) says...
Hmmm...reduced funding for the safety and well being of our FUTURE (children and environment) but increased wages for already over-paid, under-productive state employees? (That is a generalization folks, I know not all state employees fall into the DMV category)
Voters, research before you vote, learn who and what you are voting to put in office. I'm going to echo several other posters, GET RID OF THE INCOMPETENTS...I mean incumbents.
May 23, 2008 at 9:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Marianne0558 (anonymous) says...
LET'S USE THE MONEY TO ENSURE THE SAFE TRAVELING OF OUR CHILDREN TO AND FROM SCHOOL TO PASS A STUPID BILL ABOUT PUTTING CROSSES AND "I BELIEVE" ON LICENSE PLATES.
PRIORITIES IN CHECK MY ARSE!!!!!!
May 23, 2008 at 9:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
eyfigueroa (anonymous) says...
Hilarious!
"Posted by wpc3iop on May 23, 2008 at 8:57 a.m. (Suggest removal) Obviously no one in the legislature is selling new school buses..."
You're right, if any of the legislators were selling the buses 400 would be purchased a year.
I mean, that's how our legislature been doing business isn't?
May 23, 2008 at 10:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
localboy (anonymous) says...
How much did the legislature cut from their slush fun - - - err, competitive grants program? The Summerville Y received $100,000 for the Flowertown Festival from this fund in 2007. Too bad the festival has such poor attendance it needs the extra cash ;-).
May 23, 2008 at 10:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CHRISJIII (anonymous) says...
Sure they are all fired up and ready to fund unconstitutional religious displays in public bldgs and to spend millions on a rusty, broken down 200 year old submarine that is of no use to anyone. This legislature is a mockery of what effective government should be. Any guesses why S.C. is the armpit of the southeast?
May 23, 2008 at 10:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KidYendor (anonymous) says...
Lets use the cigarette tax money to buy buses and fuel instead of expanding the Medicaid welfare state.
May 23, 2008 at 12:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomru (anonymous) says...
Wow, ... If County Council had installed those machines to close our landfill and turn our trash into energy..ie MONEY!, we could make a stab at buying some of these buses!!
OR ...
If our legislators had closed ALL landfills and sold that energy we could be paying for a good chunk of those buses?
www.startech.net
NO Leadership NO Guts No Vision !!!!
Lets have more STUDIES!!!!
May 23, 2008 at 12:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomru (anonymous) says...
What!!!
"I know money's tight," Short said. "To me, it should be a priority, even when money's tight."
Sen. Linda Short, D-Chester.....well!
Start looking at other revenue STREAMS!! Do you take out the TRASH? Go to www.startech.net
May 23, 2008 at 1:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
chudbrocktune (anonymous) says...
A 15 year plan and they have fallen behind in year 2. Very impressive.
May 23, 2008 at 3:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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