Yesterday, in the interest of showing how big school districts beyond Tampa Bay are handling their fiscal woes, The Gradebook brought you a story out of Montgomery County, Md. The school system there was considering a budget-cutting move to pare bus service, thereby increasing walking distances for many students.

Here's how the story ends: The Montgomery County school board last night gave superintendent Jerry D. Weast emergency powers to reduce the district's busing obligation if escalating diesel prices make it necessary.

"I know people are upset. I know people are worried about losing their current walking distance," Weast said, according to a Washington Post story. But he added that it was a choice between cutting bus service or cutting textbooks and teachers. "And trust me, having been here a decade, nobody wants to do that, either."