Pittsylvania County schools adjust to high costs

By Sarah Arkin
Danville Register & Bee
Published: August 25, 2008

With eyes fixed on fuel and food prices, Danville and Pittsylvania County school administrators are preparing for students to head back to the classroom. They won’t be major, but some students might be seeing a few changes, particularly in county cafeterias.

While some small school districts in the state are going to four-day school weeks to cut down on fuel costs, that doesn’t seem likely for either Danville or the county.

Bobby Lovelace, director of transportation for Pittsylvania County Schools, said the school system has been looking at bus routes all summer, trying to cut out any duplication of roads being traveled and back-tracks on pick-up and drop-off routes.

As the largest county in the state, there’s a lot of ground to cover, he pointed out Monday.

Other counties are trying the idea of a “hub pick-up,” Lovelace said, where kids from a certain radius all come to get picked up.

“We do consolidate when possible,” he said, “but look to safety when they walk on these rural roads.”

Lovelace said there are centralized pick-up points in Gretna and Chatham.

Looking for efficiencies

Across the nation, school districts are cutting out non-essential bus travel, but children in the Dan River Region won’t be facing any cuts.

“No field trips have been cut out at this point,” Lovelace said. “All Virginia High School League and academic field trips will certainly be honored.”

In the city, things won’t change much this year either.

“We always adjust our bus routes every summer,” Danville Public Schools Superintendent Sue Davis said. “We’re always looking for the most efficient route.”

In comparison to the county, she pointed out, “In Danville, we’re much more confined in the area we serve.”

Hub pick-ups are an option and do happen with some middle and high school routes, Davis said.

In the cafeteria

Prices in Danville school cafeterias are staying the same for now at $1.60 for elementary school lunches and $1.70 for those in middle and high school.

“We’re really hoping that these food prices and these fuel prices settle down,” Davis said Monday.

Over the past few years, Danville has made a concerted effort to increase the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables. But foods with less sodium, whole grain products and more milk varieties cost the school, she said.

The schools do use the commodities the federal government provides, Davis said, but those “tend to be starchy and high in fat.”

“We want to maintain an increase in health foods for our children and still be able to afford it,” she said.

County schools are taking a different approach.

Superintendent James McDaniel said the School Board approved an increase on a la carte prices for foods that were not previously on the a la carte menu.

A plain biscuit will cost 30 cents. With meat, it will cost 75 cents.

Yogurt has gone from 50 cents to 60 cents, and 3-ounce rolls went from 30 to 50 cents.

“Part of the rationale behind the escalation of a la carte prices was to offset the increase in operational costs without raising meal prices,” McDaniel said.

Working ‘wiser’

Despite an uncertain economy, administrators remain enthusiastic about the upcoming year. There’s a “great deal of change in the administrative team” in Pittsylvania, said McDaniel with 47 percent of administrators with less than one year of experience in their current positions. Most of that comes from people retiring and subsequent promotions, he said.

Davis said everyone is excited about additional sports programs in Danville middle and high schools, including boys and girls soccer and swimming.

For now, the school systems are focusing on getting the school year rolling, and will take challenges as they come.

“We’re just going to have to work wiser,” Lovelace said. “Not just the school system … everywhere.”

Contact Sarah Arkin at (434) 791-7983 or