Since 1998, studies on the state school bus system have repeatedly cited the lack of a regular replacement schedule for the aging fleet. Now that state revenues show substantial signs of improvement, the Legislature should move to accommodate a long-established need.

It should be no surprise to lawmakers that maintaining older buses costs more and more each year. And there is no question that the state school bus fleet continues to get older and closer to the end of its effective life.

A legislatively appointed committee on school bus privatization heard testimony last year that succinctly lists the major bus problems faced by the state Department of Education. Department maintenance director Marshall Casey reported that in fiscal year 1996-97, the average odometer reading for South Carolina school buses was 96,644 miles. In fiscal year 2003-04, that average had increased to 170,006 miles.

Small wonder, then, that the cost of bus parts increased from $2.6 million in 1996-97 to $8.9 million in 2003-04. The maintenance problems are also reflected in the number of what were described as "mechanical breakdowns." In that same time span, they increased from 5,139 to 13,607. Not only were they increasingly costly, but they resulted in 1,200 students being late for school each day of the 2003-04 school year.

The cost of maintaining an ever-aging fleet is one reason that allocations for school buses haven't been adequate to keep existing buses on the road and to buy new buses on a regular basis to replace them. Another reason is the rising cost of fuel. Fuel costs nearly doubled between 1996 and 2004. The final fuel tally for the current school year is anybody's guess, in view of constantly escalating prices.

It is clear that the Legislature recognizes the financial difficulties of operating the school bus fleet, since it provides flexibility in the budget for school bus purchases by allowing those funds to be used for maintenance and gas prices as well. It also is evident that the Legislature's allocations of recent years haven't been sufficient to provide for regular fleet replacement, despite nearly perennial warnings.

A performance audit of the Department of Education in 1998 recommended regular replacement of the state's school bus fleet. A regular replacement schedule was recommended in 1999 by the Legislative Audit Council, and again in a follow-up report in 2001.

The school bus privatization committee came to a similar conclusion during the most recent legislative session. In a report that, so far, has been largely ignored by the Legislature, the committee agreed that "the existing bus fleet must be updated to a median age of seven to 10 years."

In contrast, 60 percent of South Carolina's school buses are at least 16 years old. In fact, some school buses still on the road were purchased when Richard Riley was governor. The age of the fleet and the lack of state resources led department officials to buy used buses discarded by another state, and they are considering additional purchases as a continuing option.

The Legislature has provided lottery money to the education department for buses, and it needs to allocate more. The unacceptable option is an older fleet, more mechanical problems and greater repair expenses.

Initially, the department will require $37 million a year, in order to replace the oldest buses in the fleet. Subsequently, a regular allocation of $24 million would put the bus system on a replacement cycle of 15 years.

Having the nation's oldest bus fleet hardly speaks well of the Legislature's support for an essential element of the state's public education system. It should commit to a regular replacement schedule beginning next session.