The ghost of growth has once again visited Davis School District.

After forcing boundary changes and the use of 150 portable classrooms, the specter is now haunting the district's transporatation system, jamming school buses with students and delaying the retirement of gas-guzzlers that don't meet federal safety standards.Growth is simply outpacing the district's ability to buy new buses.

For example, nine of 12 purchased last year are used to transport only junior high school students.

"A wave of junior high kids hit us this year. They've swamped our system," said Jack Graviet, district transportation director.

The growth means not enough buses are left over to meet the district's usual needs, like the retirement of 16-year-old buses that cost four times more to operate than newer carriers. The older buses also don't meet safety standards like steel-enclosed gas tanks and higher seat backs. (Please see accompanying box.)

The district fleet is also short on spare buses that can fill in for those needing service or to cover routes for buses on extracurricular trips.

"The state suggests we have 10 spares. We have only two," Graviet said.

Little relief is in sight this year or next.

Projected growth next year and the opening of Northridge High School in Layton will gobble up at least 10 of 12 new buses slated for purchase in the next eight months.

Drivers next year, for example, will have to "double bus" students attending Northridge. Seniors living in the same areas as sophomores and juniors who attend Northridge can be taken to their old high schools, Layton and Clearfield, if they wish. That option, which will allow students to graduate from their old schools, will cost the district extra money.

Also, a new computer system that will manage routes could save the district as many as six buses, but that system may not be on line until late 1992, Graviet said.

The solution to the transportation crunch is, of course, money. But each new bus costs about $67,000 and cash-tight, debt-ridden Davis School District simply doesn't have the means to splurge.

"If I had my dreams fulfilled, we'd have no buses older than 10 years in our system and 20 spares," Graviet said.

(Additional information)

Money-eaters\ Davis School District has 51 buses in its fleet that are more than 10 years old. None of those buses, because of their age, qualifies for a 10 percent reimbursement (based on the value of the bus) offered by the state annually. They are also less efficient than newer carriers:

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Number and age Average MPG

51, pre-1980 3 mpg

51, 1980-1987 8 mpg

49, 1987-1991 12 mpg

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