Skyrocketing fuel, heat bills may break more districts

The threat of snowballing fuel and energy prices this winter has some school district officials shaking in their boots.

Energy experts are projecting a nearly 50% increase over last winter's heating costs, in part because of damage from Hurricane Katrina to the nation's energy infrastructure. Smaller school districts are scrambling to make even more cuts to bare-bones budgets, while some larger districts are avoiding the pinch this year because they were able to lock in a lower natural gas price before the disaster.

Triple-whammy for Niagara School District

Winter is usually colder and longer in northern Wisconsin, which already means increased heating costs - with or without increased natural gas prices. January's mean temperature in Hurley is 8 degrees, compared to 18 in Lake Geneva and Janesville. Many northern districts, including Niagara, had to turn on the heat October 5 for the season's first snow forecast.

Niagara, which has one building for kindergarten through 12th grades, spent nearly $48,000 for natural gas last year for the months of October through May – a total of $49,000 for the entire year. Officials have asked the state Department of Instruction to consider restructuring the school week to cut back on the number of hours the building needs to be heated.

“If we can shorten the school week, we can keep the heat off more,” said Niagara Superintendent Peter Kososki. “We could lengthen the school day and close the building on Mondays and/or Fridays. We’re just asking for some flexibility and some options of how to handle this, or it’s going to break even more school districts.”

Niagara was already operating in crisis mode after the Florence County School Board - located a county away – voted to dissolve its 600-student district, meaning Florence's students and debt may have to be absorbed by neighboring districts.

"If that happens, we'll be taking on about 400 Florence students and about $4 million in Florence debt," Kososki said.

The district learned this week (October 5) the state is cutting funding by $350,000 for next year because of an enrollment decline, Kososki said.

With the average gas price hovering around $3 a gallon, transportation costs are also a problem. To compensate, district officials have decided to limit field trips and change athletic schedules.

"If boys and girls can play their games on the same nights, then we can cut down on busing costs and heating costs for the gymnasiums," Kososki said. "But we are putting parents in awkward positions. If they have a son and daughter who play a sport, they will have to choose between them."

Some districts are spending money on energy conservations projects - hoping to save money in the long run. Niagara spent $800 to have the boilers tuned up.

"We were told that if we spend the money now, it will pay for itself in six months," Kososki said.

Eliminate state gas tax for schools?

Stevens Point Superintendent Bette Lang is asking Governor Doyle for a break from the state gas tax of 29.9 cents as her district faces a projected $125,000 deficit for transportation costs this school year.

Lang sent a letter to the governor September 14 asking for “a respite from the state motor fuel tax on all fuel purchased by or reimbursed by school districts for use in busing children and that the cost of motor vehicle fuel for transporting students be removed from inclusion with costs controlled by the revenue caps.”

The requested break would retroactively cover July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006.

For now, the district plans to eliminate all non-essential field trips and look at increasing students' cost to participate to help cover the fuel price increase.

“The increase in fuel prices is a problem that no one anticipated,” said Jim King, Stevens Point assistant superintendent for operations. “Everyone has been cut, and the state is hard-pressed, too.”

There are no easy answers, King said.

“If they could change the revenue caps process, that would help,” he said.
“But when you change caps, you're looking at property tax issues, and it’s a whole other story.”

Cold buildings in Appleton

Appleton Area School District officials expect to spend about $400,000 to $500,000 more on energy bills this year, said Todd Gray, assistant superintendent for business and personnel.

"We shut off the heat at 3:15 p.m." Gray said. "People who stay late complain about being cold, but there isn't much we can do. In the last three years, we cut administration costs by $1 million by cutting administration positions and salaries. We've been cutting back for so many years, we don't have much left to even consider. We refuse to cut teachers' salaries to pay the heat bill."

Appleton voters overwhelmingly passed a referendum last spring to lower class sizes and fund some remodeling projects, so going back to the voters for more money isn't an option, Gray said.

"Under revenue controls, we really have nowhere to go when unexpected things pop up," Gray said.

Fox Valley schools, including Appleton, have the benefit of close proximity, so officials aren't as concerned about increased transportation costs. The district already shuffled athletic schedules to save as much as possible.

The 'locking in' guessing game

Districts have the option of locking in a natural gas price ahead of time. Madison, Janesville and Milwaukee public schools, which has 200-plus buildings, did lock in.

"We'll be OK because we contracted on the futures market and were able to get advantageous rates this year," said Roseann St. Aubin, director of the Office of Communications and Public Affairs for MPS. "It's hard to know what to do in a market that's accelerating, but when you have as many buildings to heat as we do, you take the safest route."

Niagara didn't lock in a rate.

"We buy at the going rate," Kososki said. "You just never know if something's going to happen that's going to make prices go up. Maybe they will go down. You just don't know."

Posted October 6, 2005