Schcjiol Bus Standards 



MUST.S.HIGH 



. ;: By JOHN K. COX, Director 



lAA Rural School Kelailont 



WITHOUT doubt Illinois stand- 

 ards for pupil bus transportation 

 are very high, and rightly so. 

 One result of these high stand- 

 ards is that there has been only 

 one fatality in Illinois from 1940 to 1948 

 while transporting pupils to and from 

 school. Figures are not readily available 

 On the number of casualties among chil- 

 dren walking along country roads or for 

 the many students who ride to school in 

 private cars. 



Illinois transportation costs per pupil 

 were close to $50 during the 1946-1947 

 term and higher this year. 



The Ohio state average per capita cost 

 for transportation for the 1946-47 school 

 year was $24 per pupil. The average 



operation cost per bus mile was 18 cents. 

 This was based on 6,000 school buses 

 transporting 314,341 pupils. The buses 

 traveled a distance of approximately 240,- 

 000 miles per day. Two-thirds of the 

 buses are owned by boards of education 

 and there is very little objection to trans- 

 porting grade and high school pupils in 

 the same bus, says the supervisor of trans- 

 portation for the Ohio State Department 

 of Education. 



Indiana reports a per capita cost for 

 pupil transportation for 1946-1947 of 

 S33.13. Their buses are usually owned 

 by the operator. However, some of the 

 school corporations do own the buses; 

 some, the bodies only. The fact that, in 

 general, the districts do not own the 

 buses in Indiana may account for part 

 of the diflFerence in per capita costs as 

 compared to Ohio. 



They said no objections had been re- 

 ceived by the state oflFice to transporting 

 grade and high school pupils together 

 and added that although the state recom- 

 mended a maximum of 45 minutes on the 

 bus, there were no limits on the length of 

 time a person might remain on the bus. ., 



Also they added the significant state- 

 ment, "Some of our corporations are too 

 small to operate economically at present. 

 The movement is still on to consolidate 

 whenever it may prove educationally and 

 economically sound." 



The main reason Illinois' per capita 

 transportation costs have been so high is 

 that heretofore we have hauled mainly 

 high school students or in some cases 

 have had dual transportation systems. 

 Under the increasingly popular 12-grade 

 unit, by hauling grade and high school 

 pupils together, we should be able to cut 

 our per capita transportation costs to $35 

 and perhaps to $30. If so, with the state 

 paying $20 per pupil, the local district 

 would be obligated for only $10 to $15 

 per pupil per year for transportation 

 costs. 



Since grade school pupils will not be 

 transported as far as the high school 



(Continued on page 22) 



Mr. SUCCESSFUL HOG... 



For a prize hog at the fair or 

 for the market, nothing suc- 

 ceeds as well as a routine of 

 good feed, scinitation, and 

 early vaccination with Farm 

 Bureau Serum. 



No hog can go far wrong with 

 this recipe at today's good 

 prices. 





i 



< 





■ i 



lUinoMS Faran Bureau SoruMu Assoc. 



14 



L A. A. RECORD 



