With one fiscal year closing and another set to begin, South Carolina school bus operators received some welcomed news this week as the South Carolina Senate overrode a budget veto by Gov. Mark Sanford that would have eliminated $900,000 appropriated for school bus fuel and parts.

But, the state is not out of the woods. In fact, it never seems able to emerge from the forest of budgetary limbo because the General Assembly for years has failed to adequately fund school transportation. With the exception of private fleets in the Beaufort County and Charleston County, South Carolina is the only state to own, operate and maintain its own school buses.

"We're still $14 million less tomorrow than we are today," said Donald Tudor, the director of transportation at the South Carolina Department of Education.

The department is awaiting the closeout transactions for fiscal year 2010 to find out if it will need to exercise a state budget provision granted by the General Assembly to carry forward funds and spend them on school busing. If the closeout yields the necessary $14 million, then school transportation in the state can breath an immediate sigh of relief. If not, then the Department of Education will have to do what it has for years: go to the General Assembly and ask for the necessary emergency money.

"They can't afford not to have buses around," Tudor added. "They've always come through mid-year and given us more money."

The issue was expected to be a major discussion point at the South Carolina Association for Pupil Transportation's annual conference, which is scheduled for July 11-14 in conjunction with the Southeastern States Pupil Transportation Conference in Columbia.