The Montgomery County school board last week gave officials emergency powers to extend the distance children must walk to school before they are eligible for bus service. Officials there said they budgeted $7.9 million for fuel next year but expect to exceed that amount by $5 million.

They did not say how far they could extend the walking distance requirement from school, but did say $1 million in extra fuel costs translates to about 15 teachers. (Many local school districts start busing at 1 mile for elementary students and 1.5 miles for middle or high school students.)

No school district in the Baltimore region told The Examiner it was considering a similar measure. Each should at least analyze if it could make a dent in its fuel bill. Carroll is expecting to pay 40 percent more for fuel next year, according to officials. Howard officials said they expect to pay about $800,000 more next year to contractors because of fuel increases. That?s a lot of books.

Trimming waistlines along with saving money is a good thing. According to the American Obesity Association, 30 percent of children 6-19 are overweight and 15 percent obese.

Parents should encourage the changes, not fight them ? and definitely not drive their children to school unless real safety demands it. Schools can help by providing ample rack space for bikes and by starting campaigns to show parents and students the best walking and biking routes from their homes.

Other ways schools could save money is through technology. Baltimore County and Baltimore City both said they were installing GPS devices to better track bus routes and cut down on extra travel and idling time. That might help Baltimore City analyze why its transportation budget is half that of Anne Arundel despite having only 15 percent the number of students to ferry to and from school. Other districts spend much less per student on transportation than Baltimore City does, too, and travel more miles.

Airlines are merging schedules, reducing the frequency of flights and cutting some routes to save fuel. These are some ideas school districts should consider too for their bus routes. And by pushing exercise in the process, maybe school budgets and children?s health will both benefit.