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Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Feeling The Pinch

Claudia Atticot

Schools around the country are doing a little more subtraction this year to make ends meet. Gas prices, power bills and the cost of common cafeteria foods are sky-high. School districts must find more ways to save money.

In some states, students have to find a different way to get to school like walking! According to a recent survey of 546 school officials, 35% reported combining or cutting bus routes to help lower fuel costs.

One district in Orange County, California, canceled 44 of its 62 bus routes. "Our goal is to keep those cuts as far away from the classroom as possible," said the district's spokesperson, Julie Hatchel. Some districts are getting rid of school buses altogether.

Another option is shortening the school week to four days. Fourteen districts nationwide planned to adopt the shortened schedule this fall. Right now, more than 100 school districts in the U.S. are on a four-day schedule.

To make up time, students attend classes for an additional hour each day. "Our budget could only reach so far," said Superintendent John Sartin, of Caldwell Parish, in Louisiana. "This was the best alternative." His district started the four-day week on August 11.

Students in Jacksonville, Florida, will have to dig deeper into their pockets this school year. The price of their school lunch rose from $1.30 to $2. Three-quarters of the largest districts in the U.S. are increasing the price of school lunches.

Across the nation, food prices rose an average of 6% this year. That means Americans are spending about 6 cents more for every dollar spent on food.

Debbie Moors, of Berthoud, Colorado, has daughters who are 8 and 10. They will take milk from home this year, which will save $1 a day. Also, because the girls seemed to be eating only half of their sandwiches last year, their mom found a perfect solution: Give them just half a sandwich in the first place.

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