Pain at the Pump Everyone’s fuel budget is hurting after the events of
the past six months. South Carolina is no different. Mike Bullman, the state director of transportation at the state Department of Education, aches for the days not so long ago—Jan. 1 of this very year—when his operation was paying $2.70 per gallon for ultra-low sulfur diesel. By the middle of June, prices had nearly doubled to $5.36 per gallon. Despite the price coming down slightly as summer arrived, Bullman said the diesel budget cost more per gal- lon than his agency had ever paid before. “It cost us $5 million more than what we typically pay for
fuel,” he shared. Over the last nine years, Bullman explained the highest
total fuel bill the state paid for its school buses was $39 million in fiscal year 2013-2014, with a low of $14.3 million in fiscal year 2016-2017. “Our nine-year average is $23.3 million per year. This year was well above that,” he commented.
The only reason this past year’s bill was only $32 million
was because the price hike only impacted half the school year. For the new school year, Bullman said he is forecast- ing a minimum of $50 million and as high as $60 million. “We obviously don’t have that kind of money. It would
require emergency appropriations from the General As- sembly,” he concluded. “It’s eating us alive.” The saving grace could be the EPA Clean School Bus
Program $500 million rebate, not to mention an addition- al $500 million that will be made available later this year. While state shares are limited to 10 percent of the total pot of each offering, Bullman said he is confident South Caroli- na can obtain $25 million to $30 million to purchase more propane buses as well as to begin electrification projects. “We’re going to be aggressive on both of those fronts,” he said, adding that the grant money may just save the state when it comes to its diesel bill. — R.G.
QUAL IT Y MAT TERS
www.stnonline.com 19
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