MOUNT ZION - Mount Zion schools went over budget for transportation costs in April with two months left in the fiscal year.

Superintendent Darbe Brinkoetter calls it a catch-22. The district is in the third year of a three-year transportation contract that calls for the bus company, First Student, to pay $2 per gallon for fuel. The average cost of diesel this week is more than $4 per gallon, almost twice what it cost a year ago. The district has to pick up the slack and can't renegotiate until the contract runs out.

"We're looking into some busing software to make sure we're making the best use of our routes and the most efficient use," she said.

Next year, she said, the district will have to increase its transportation budget by 40 percent.

Rising fuel and food prices are hitting school districts hard in Central Illinois, where rural districts depend heavily on state aid, and budgets, by state law, must be balanced. Unexpected expense increases can leave districts scrambling.

The highest cost, said Randy Dotson, director of transportation for the Decatur School District, is simply getting kids to and from school. People have suggested to him that the district could save money by cutting back on field trips and athletic events, but those costs are negligible when compared to the regular daily cost.

"The majority of our (fuel) bill is the $3.5 million it costs getting kids to and from (school)," Dotson said.

Like Mount Zion, Decatur is in the third year of a three-year contract with its bus company, Durham School Services. The company pays the district $2.25 per gallon, with the district responsible for any cost over that. Gasoline for district-owned vehicles is taking a bite out of the budget, too. As of Tuesday, the average price for regular gas topped $4 per gallon.

"Our expenditures for gas have doubled since 2004," said Mike Sotiroff, director of buildings and grounds.

Some of that, he said, is due to an increased need for snow plowing this past winter, when it snowed more than it has for several years. According to the National Weather Service in Lincoln, Decatur's snowfall was 22.5 inches this year, about 4 inches more than normal.

The bottom line is that spending more on gas and diesel means spending less on improving the buildings. The buildings and grounds budget, too, will have to be increased next year.

"We use the past history to see how much we're going to use and anticipate how much fuel is going to cost," Sotiroff said.

Argenta-Oreana bumped up its fuel budget 15 percent this year, and the cost still exceeded the budget, Superintendent Damian Jones said. Next year, the line item in the budget for fuel will be increased by 30 percent.

"Fuel increases are impacting every aspect of many peoples' lives," Jones said. "Rising fuel costs are not just felt at the pump; they are felt as families attempt to purchase groceries and conduct their lives in a manner similar to years past."

Food costs are hurting Argenta-Oreana, too, he said, with a 15 percent increase in costs this year and an expected 20 percent to 30 percent increase next year. The district plans to raise fees on milk, breakfast and lunch for the coming school year.

Decatur schools' contract with Aramark keeps a lid on such increases, said Becky Blount, director of business affairs. The district renews the agreement each year, and it already has been renewed for the 2008-09 school year, with only a 4 percent increase in costs to the district and no increase for students.

With more than 70 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, any increase would have a lopsided effect on the other students.

"It wouldn't be fair," Blount said.

Valerie Wells can be reached at vwells@herald-review.com or 421-7982.