Larger text
Smaller text
Print
E-mail
Armstrong School District set for fuel
Renatta Signorini can be reached via e-mail or at 724-543-1303, ext. 1319.
Armstrong School District seems to have a good deal on fuel, compared to Allegheny and Westmoreland county districts that are locked into prices much higher than the current local average.
District spokesman Jon Szish said ASD is in a five-year contract with its six bus contractors that allows cost-sharing between both entities.
"We agreed to a 50/50 split with the bus companies of any fuel costs that exceed $1.75 per gallon," Szish said.
Comparatively, many Western Pennsylvania school districts that locked in fuel prices in June are paying $4.30 to $4.50 per gallon for diesel and $3.46 to $3.65 per gallon of gasoline. Contracts with the districts were arranged through the Allegheny and Westmoreland intermediate units.
ASD's contract will end in June 2012 with its six bus companies, Szish said. The following companies provide bus transportation throughout the district: A.J. Myers & Sons Inc. of Kittanning, Shriver Bus Co. of Cowansville, Valley Lines Inc. in Freeport, Barker Bus in Kittanning, McMeans Busing Co. of Dayton and Smith Bus Co. of Shelocta.
The current average for diesel fuel in the Pittsburgh area is $2.84 and the average for regular gasoline is $1.85, according to AAA. The highest recorded average price in the area for diesel was $4.99 in May and $4.05 for regular gas in June.
The Allegheny Intermediate Unit contract made sense in the early summer and in some ways still does, said Jay Himes, executive director of the Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials.
"Only very strong-willed people with ice water in their veins would have said no to that contract," Himes said.
Apollo-Ridge School District has a contract for bus service through the AIU, said business manager Richard Day.
Pennsylvania intermediate units use group purchases to save money on everything from natural gas and paper products to medical coverage.
"Aggregating purchasing has big planning benefits and usually means big savings," Himes said.
Reporting by Tribune-Review staff writer Richard Wills contributed to this story.
More Leader Times headlines
- Anti-Shaffer fliers widely posted in Ford City on election eve
- Police seek drug suspect who fled from county courthouse
- Armstrong School District bus collides with coal truck
- News to use
- Rayburn man imprisoned for forgery, theft
- Armstrong 911 calls
- Mayors ousted in Leechburg, Springdale and Saxonburg
- Late Tarentum, Freeport mayors receive Election Day tribute
