Hard times and higher fuel prices will follow kids back to school this fall, reports the Associated Press: Children will walk farther to the bus stop, pay more for lunch, study from old textbooks, and wear last year’s clothes. And field trips? Forget about it. This year, it could cost nearly twice as much to fuel the yellow buses that rumble to school each morning. At the same time, costs for air conditioning and heating, cafeteria food, and classroom supplies are mounting, all because of the shaky economy. And parents have their own tanks to fill. The extra costs present a tricky math problem: Where can schools subtract to keep costs under control?…

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