By Lindsay Tice,Staff Writer

POLAND – Poland teenagers must now find their own rides home when they’re done with after-school tutoring and required extracurricular activities.

Poland Regional High School’s afternoon activity bus has been eliminated to save money on fuel.

The Poland School Committee decided to cut the bus earlier this school year as gas and diesel prices skyrocketed. Poland schools are facing an $83,000 budget deficit because of fuel and heating costs.

It lowered school thermostats and is looking at other ways to reduce costs. It saved $7,000 by dropping the activity bus, according to Operations Director Gordon Murray.

“We’re doing the best we can without affecting the educational process,” Murray said.

Although Minot and Mechanic Falls students also attend Poland Regional High School, their towns did not offer late afternoon transportation. The bus cut by the Poland School Committee served only Poland students.

The last bus was Thursday.

The cut won’t affect a large number of students. Often only a half dozen teenagers signed up to ride, said Poland Regional Principal Bill Doughty.

But he and others are concerned about the kids who relied on that bus to get home. Some students stayed after school for tutoring or homework help. Others stayed after for sports or extracurricular activities, which are required for graduation at Poland Regional.

Sophomore Jasmine Simoglou, a Poland athlete who often stays after school for practices, isn’t sure what she’ll do without the bus. Her parents could pick her up, she said, but they don’t get out of work until late afternoon or early evening. She lives too far away to walk.

“Field hockey is almost over, but when cheering starts it’s going to be hard to find a ride home,” the 15-year-old said.

Poland mother Pearl Dunham isn’t sure how she’ll deal, either. Her husband works, the family has only one car and three kids attend the school. One daughter participates in four after-school activities, two of which she needs in order to graduate.

“Yeah, OK, it’s going to save the school money, but parents are going to have to pay for it,” Dunham said.

Harvey Boatman, transportation specialist with the Maine Department of Education, has heard from a number of school districts trying to save on fuel. Many are asking drivers not to let their buses idle. Some are consolidating bus runs.

Others, like Poland, are cutting back on activity buses. Boatman calls that a “drastic move” that could lead to more pollution, more traffic and more fuel consumption since parents – not a single bus – will bring children home. He’s also worried that cutting after-school buses could create an extra hurdle for students who need help to meet state standards.

“I’m concerned we haven’t really looked at the transportation piece and its effect on the Learning Results,” he said.

Poland Regional’s principal is concerned about that, too.

Some of the school’s extra-curricular activities meet during the school day and students can sign up for those if they need to fulfill the graduation requirement, Doughty said. Students who stay for sports can catch a ride with friends or parents.

But teenagers who need extra help after school may not stay without a guaranteed way to get home.

He cut the bus as the School Committee mandated. He hopes that won’t be the end, though.

Doughty is now looking for grants, donations or other ways to fund a late afternoon bus or small van.

“It’s something we want to have for our kids, so we will look for another way,” he said.