Yorktown School District's Transportation Costs to Decrease $200,000 in 2012-2013

 officials are estimating the transportation budget for the next 2012-2013 school year to decrease by 3.1 percent.

This year's approximate transportation costs are $6,397,365 and for next year the district estimates them to be $6,197,280.

Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Tom Cole said weather is one of the factors that can affect the budget. The 2010-2011 transportation budget was the lowest in recent years due to a number of snow storms with delays, which he said limited morning kindergarten beyond the days they would normally take off in a school year.

"Looking at the total change [of the transportation budget], about $200,000, that is due primarily to the engineering of the bus routes," Cole said. "We've been able to be more efficient. We do have fewer students, but that doesn't necessarily correlate to less buses. But we have been able to become far more efficient with the re-routing."

Here is the breakdown of some of the numbers associated with the transportation budget:

• 4-tier bus system includes the high school, middle school, Crompond School and K-3rd grade
• 75 buses daily: 26 large buses, 49 vans
• 3,018 miles per day/more than 540,000 miles last year
• 59,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year  
• Service private school within 15 miles 
• Service out of district Special Education programs

This year, the multi-year contract with Baumann Bus Company will rebid to transport more than 4,000 students daily to Yorktown's five schools and more than a dozen others, school officials said. 

The school district serves approximately 3,600 students in six schools: and  elementary schools, , and the and Schools.

The next budget work session will be on Monday, March 5 at 7 p.m. at the middle school cafeteria. Topics discussed will include curriculum and instruction, pupil personnel services and technology.

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