DRIPPING SPRINGS – With the county’s average gas price nearing $4, the Dripping Springs ISD (DSISD) Board of Trustees will consider entering an interlocal agreement with TASB Energy Cooperative next Monday.
As of April 18, the national average price for regular unleaded gas is $4.087 and the state’s is $3.713, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). For Hays County, that’s only a few cents cheaper at $3.701.
If the Board chooses to approve, the purpose of the district’s agreement with TASB Energy Cooperative would be to provide additional options for purchasing fuel and other energy. These options could potentially help DSISD defray the rising cost of fuel. It is free of charge to join and there is no obligation to purchase fuel or energy once in the cooperative.
“We do have storage tanks for diesel and unleaded fuel on our facility,” said Pam Swanks, Director of Transportation. “We would agree to buy a certain amount of fuel over a year with other districts, so we wouldn’t get it all at one time. … If would get up to three million gallons collectively, then we would see a substantial price drop.”
Swanks clarified that the interlocal agreement only permits them to enter the pool if they see fit.
“We would let you know if we were going to do that,” Swanks said. “There’s not a pool currently being formed. Just to reassure you, we would not commit ourselves to 100% of our fuel. We would maybe do 70% of what we know we are going to use. That way we would not overcommit.”
Other options include getting a fixed price from TASB or purchasing fuel how the district currently does.
“You have to be in the co-op to join the pool,” said Dr. Holly Morris-Kuentz, Superintendent. “So, we are not even in the co-op and we want to at least have the option next time they form a pool, to have the flexibility. … Right now, we are locked out of the opportunity so we want to have those options going forward as we watch gas prices go up. It’s kind of pre-planning to what’s going on.”
Board member Stefani Reinold suggested that the Board also consider developing a workshop that discusses these kinds of issues.
“This begs a larger issue that I, myself, have been trying to do research on,” Reinold said. Maybe we [can] potentially do a workshop about this on what school districts have done in the past in times of recession and inflation. I know nobody can predict the future but a lot of theories suggest that potentially we are headed in that direction, it would be interesting to potentially, over the summer, look into some best practices.”
Trustees are scheduled to vote on this agenda item at its regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 25 in the Board Room located in the Administration Building at 510 W. Mercer St.
