LOVELAND, Ohio -- The kids might be enjoying their summer break but many school officials are worried about how they’re going to get everyone to class in the fall.

It’s all because of the rising price of gas.

As the new budget year begins, those officials have put on their thinking caps to concentrate on how to adapt to higher operation costs.

“We don't have extra funds lying around, something’s got to give,” Loveland city schools business manager John Ames said. “We have about 65-70 buses that are on the road. Of that group, they use about 100,000 gallons of fuel a year. 100,000 gallons of fuel at $1 per gallon is $100,000 at $5 it's $500,000.”

Some bigger school districts, including Cincinnati Public, go a different route by contracting with private companies for bus service.

Official said they buy in bulk and try to lock in a low price per gallon for two or more years.

Even with the contracts, Cincinnati Public's budget for its 300 buses will jump from $25.5 million to $26.5 million for the upcoming school year.

While the dollar amount is lower in Loveland, the pressure to find ways to save is the same.

“One of the things we're looking at is in neighborhoods where we typically make 20 stops in a given neighborhood, maybe we will have one stop and the parents will need to bring their children to the stop,” Ames said.

In Loveland, all students can ride the bus to school, but the district might adopt the 1-mile rule where students who live within a mile of their school need to walk or find a ride.

The district is also looking at hybrid buses. Those are being tested in eight states.