The A+ Activist

Some of the things the federal government wants to impose on our schools never ceases to amaze me. Especially when it comes to the ways they want to spend the dollars set aside for our kids’ educations.

Here’s what I learned this week. I was speaking to our district’s bus garage supervisor and he was talking about how the government wants school buses to switch to a bio-desiel fuel. Now on the surface this sounds like a good idea right? It’s better for the environment and it is probably better for anyone who breathes in the stuff all day long….

All sounds good. Right? Not when it costs each bus $.015 more per gallon to use it. That’s extra money out of our school’s budget. The budget that is supposed to be used to educate our children as well as transport them. I know what you’re saying the idea of a fuel that is economically better is a good thing, I won’t deny that - but I will argue about where the extra money for the fuel will come from especially when schools all over the U.S. are strapped and struggling to find ways to trim more from the budget.

Many have to cut an excess of as much as 2 million dollars in order to stay out of a deficit by the year 2013. They are offering teachers who are close to retirement incentives to get of dodge now in order to bring in less expensive teachers; teachers I might add, as in one local school district that are already on the layoff list because they are closing elementary schools in the district.

As of right now I haven’t been able to find any information to suggest that the government is forcing school districts to switch to the bio-desiel but I also don’t see where it will no longer be an option for much longer either…

I don’t know what’s more important and surely this is something the school districts have to decide for themselves also but if saving $.015 a gallon means more money towards my children’s education, can you guess which option I would choose?