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Last Updated: Nov 14, 2008 - 12:49:26 PM |
Despite the recent slow dip in gas prices, everyone has felt the pinch on their wallets.
Chesterfield County schools are no different.
To accommodate for prices nearly $1 more per gallon than this time last year, the Chesterfield County Public School system has added an extra $1 million into this year’s budget for fuel for school buses.
“We allotted additional funds for gas and used some reserve funds left over from last year,” says Tim Bullis, Director of Community Relations for CCPS. “We didn’t remove anything from educational funds.”
To help combat rising fuel costs, CCPS officials are looking at ways to make buses run more efficiently.
“We want to be as efficient as we can,” says Bullis. “We are looking what the appropriate amount of time should be for buses to idle before they turn their engines off. We are also looking at where our buses are parked overnight in relation to where the driver lives to maximize efficiency. We haven’t changed anything in regards to bus routes for this year.”
Relief from rising fuel costs may also come in other ways. Chesterfield County was recently awarded a Safe Routes to School grant for $25,000.
“Walking and biking to school offers a host of benefits to students, communities, and the environment,” says Governor Tim Kaine. “We want to encourage alternative means of transportation for Virginians of all ages, and these grants will help ensure that our children can get to school safely by foot or bike.”
With this grant, Chesterfield officials will be working with elementary school principals and PTAs to assess the feasibility of projects for walking and biking.
“Right now, we are putting together letters to principals and looking at a timeline to see when we can meet with them,” says Lynne Bennett, Health and Physical Education Specialist for CCPS. “It will take us the better part of a year to come up with results because we want to deal with each school individually. We will let the schools decide how they want to handle gathering community input.”
Once the walkability audits are finished, officials plan on applying for the grant again next year to put their plan into action. Work that may be done in Chesterfield could include more sidewalks and educational seminars to teach people healthy living tips.
“When we know what would be the best, then we can implement our plans,” says Bennett. “We can’t just say to add sidewalks, because it won’t be safe for kids to run across busy roads like Rt. 10 unless there are crossing guards. We need to assess the best plan for each school.”
Though no dates have been set for any audits or assessments, officials will most likely be meeting with school officials in September. Parents could begin seeing surveys later this fall, most likely around October.
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