Kevin Zetino made a wide right turn onto Lyons Avenue as the engine of his 25-year-old yellow school bus huffed around the corner.

“It’s not as smooth as a Lexus,” Zetino said, laughing as he continued turning his oversized steering wheel.

All over the Santa Clarita Valley, the school bell was about to ring, marking the end of another day of learning.

For some 120 kids at Old Orchard, Wiley Canyon and Peachland elementary schools in Newhall, 31-year-old Zetino and his yellow school bus was the means to and from an education.

“It if wasn’t for the (bus service), these kids probably wouldn’t go to school,” Zetino said.

Zetino is one of 14 bus drivers contracted by Newhall School District to provide bus service to kids who would otherwise spend hours a week walking three or four miles along the busy streets of Newhall.

In recent years, state budget cuts have forced local educators to reduce or eliminate school bus service. Starting next school year, Newhall and Castiac Union School District will be the only Santa Clarita Valley districts offering bus service for students who aren’t special education.

“This should be the last resort for people to cut from,” Zetino said of school bus cuts. “I’m not talking about transportation. I’m talking about schools, period.”

Stretching bus routes
Running an average school bus route costs $50,000 to $65,000 a year. Local school districts have trimmed and slashed bus service as state budget cuts shrank their spending options in recent years.

After this school year, Saugus Union School District plans to eliminate its final general-education bus route that serves students living in upper Bouquet Canyon in Saugus.

Newhall School District has a total of 14 bus routes. Only five of the routes are for general-education students who attend McGrath, Wiley Canyon, Old Orchard and Peachland elementary schools.

“I don’t see anything happening with our busing,” Superintendent Marc Winger said. “We have an obligation to bus those kids.”

Just two years ago, Castaic Union had 12 bus routes, but budget cuts forced leaders to cut four routes to preserve classroom programs.

The transportation program now includes 11 bus drivers for the four-school district, Superintendent James Gibson said. Seven hundred students rely on the school bus to get them to and from school.

“When there’s no funds, there’s no funds,” Gibson said.

The school bus program is likely to get another look this year, given the possibility of more budget cuts next year, Gibson said.

Other school districts, like the William S. Hart Union High School District, have consolidated stops.

“If I operate fewer routes and make them longer, we’re saving money,” director of transportation Richard Varner said.

“It comes down to what is the lesser of the evils. We don’t want to provide service that isn’t accessible to kids, but at the same time, we want to provide services that will get them to school.”

Of the Hart district’s 22 bus routes, only one is for general-education students, Varner said. The single route serves about 55 Sierra Vista Junior High School students who have no other way to get to school, he said.

Varner, a former bus driver, recalled 1983 when the Hart district ran about 50 home-to-school routes.

Within the Hart district, Varner has been forced to cut four out of five bus routes for kids. Another seven routes for special-needs students have been eliminated, he said.

“It came down to a choice: Do we make cuts in the classroom or do we make cuts to transportation?” Varner said.

The Hart district has not offered school bus service for its high school students in more than 12 years, he said. School districts are required by the state to offer transportation for special-education students who need it.

This year, Gov. Jerry Brown proposed cutting all school transportation. The funding was restored, but it’s left local educators questioning whether the funding may be cut permanently in the future.

“I don’t think any of us will know until just before the budget passes,” Varner said.

Funding, the future
Along with receiving less funding from the state, school districts face mounting transportation costs, which include maintenance and fuel.

Newhall’s transportation budget is about $1.2 million this year, but the state funds only about $155,000, according to the 2011-12 budget. The transportation costs increased by $34,000 in just one year.

Every year, school districts analyze student enrollment and current bus routes to figure out how to serve students best and save the most money.

Bus drivers like Zetino are paid by the hour, which means when school districts cut or consolidate routes, drivers receive less money.

Drivers make on average $16 an hour, Varner said.

This year, Zetino’s job as a bus driver gives him about 32 hours a week and he earns minimal benefits. His route takes about 4 hours in the morning and about 3.5 hours in the afternoons.

Zetino lives in Sherman Oaks, but he spends most of his day in the Santa Clarita Valley. When he finishes the morning route, he’ll run errands, go to the gym or enjoy a run before getting into uniform for his afternoon route.

On weekends and during breaks and summer, Zetino earns a paycheck by working on construction sites.

But for the bus driver, it’s always been about helping the kids.

For the nearly 200 kids at Wiley Canyon, Old Orchard and Peachland elementary schools, Zetino is a source of familiarity.

In the mornings, he’ll remind the troublemakers to make good decisions. On the way home, kids come up to him eager to share the school day’s news.

“To me, they are family,” he said. “Not everybody sees the things we see.”

School bus drivers must hold a Class B driver’s license, go through a minimum number of training hours and earn special certification through the California Highway Patrol. Bus drivers go through background checks and screenings before working with children.

“It takes a lot to become a bus driver,” Zetino said. “I don’t think (just) anyone can do it.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge is focusing on the road while making sure bouncing and chatty kids are behaving.

“There are people who cut in front of you and think this vehicle stops like a car,” he said. “We have to be on our toes all the time.”

Zegino said he’ll remain at the wheel as long as there’s a job for him.

“This is my dinosaur,” he said with a chuckle. “It doesn’t let me down.”