Rockford schools could save $!M on bus fuel costs

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - The Rockford School District could save more than $1 million on fuel to run its buses this year.

Officials say the cost of diesel fuel has dropped to its lowest point in 11 years. The district budgeted $2.1 million for fuel this year but has only spent $503,000. The final tab is likely to fall below $1 million.

The Rockford Register-Star reports (http://bit.ly/21DjIUs ) district officials are eyeing the purchase of used buses to upgrade its fleet.

Transportation director Gregg Wilson says he'd like to use the savings to buy 10 used buses that have less than 20,000 miles on them.

Ideally, the average age of a bus should be five years. The average of Rockford's 210 buses is eight years.

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Information from: Rockford Register Star, http://www.rrstar.com