Sanger ISD administrators figured rising gasoline costs into their budget, but no one imagined the price at the pump would rise so high. "It's pretty much doubled," said Rick Clements, Sanger deputy superintendent.

To cut sots, the district merged a few bus routes and cancelled a big field trip to Fair Park. "It's one of those things where you can't control it. You're going to have to live with it and you're going to have to adjust to it," said Clements.

In Collin County soaring gas prices have drained the Princeton School District's transportation budget to nearly nothing.

"Consolidating our routes in just impossible for us. We have 60 square miles and our buses are full currently," said Philip Anthony, Princeton superintendent.

Anthony says the district will run out of money to pay for school bus gas this month, before the end of the school year and summer classes. He's going to ask the school board for emergency funding.

"You start with your highest priorities, you got to do your highest priorities first. Some things are just unavoidable and fuel costs are one of them. We've got to get the kids here," said Anthony.

Plano ISD's situation shows how bad things are. They paid $1.89 a gallon for gas last year. They planned on paying $2.75 a gallon this year. But they're now paying $3.56 a gallon.

Like many school districts, administrators siphoned money from other areas to help with transportation. One superintendent says if you don't have buses running, you don't have kids coming to school.

E-mail sstoler@wfaa.com