After the roller coaster gas pricing that swept the country in 2008 left people screaming for relief, local residents have gotten used to the volatile nature of the business.

While gas prices reached as high as $4 per gallon this past summer, many consumers and government entities entered into contracts with fuel suppliers for a set price.

Now, just a few months after the tumultuous $4 per gallon, gas prices are under $2 per gallon, leaving some people floating with a high fixed rate for their gas.

Warrick County and the Warrick County School Corporation entered into fuel contracts this past December, locking in what appears to be a favorable rate.

And with the rising conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza slowly driving gas prices back up, it seems like Warrick County officials locked in fuel bids at just the right time.

The school corporation locked its gasoline price at $1.57 per gallon and its soy bio-diesel fuel $2.04 per gallon.

Superintendent Brad Schneider said the corporation is contracted to purchase 70 percent of its foreseen fuel usage for those amounts throughout the year.

"It gives us flexibility," he said. "If fuel prices drop below what we locked in, then we will buy at that lower price. But throughout the course of the year, we are committed to buying 'x' number of gallons at these prices."

Schneider said he and the school board felt that it was a good time to enter into a contract, given the low price.

Fuel costs have thrown a wrench in most governmental budgets, but Schneider said locking in a low price helps budget management.

"The public is very aware of fuel prices," he said. "With the situation in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, it doesn't take much for fuel prices to go right back up. When gas was above $4 per gallon and diesel was pushing $5 per gallon, that was a big blow to our transportation budget. Now that the prices are back down, we decided to lock in."

This is the first time the school corporation has locked in fuel costs.

In the past, the corporation would pay for fuel on an as-need basis, paying whatever the fuel costs were for that given day of delivery.

"When these suppliers provided us the option of locking in fuel at a certain price for a year, we thought that was a very wise thing to do," said Schneider. "The price of fuel has been very volatile."

He said the school corporation's contract is set up nicely because if the price of gas drops further, the corporation can still somewhat take advantage of that.

"With all of the unrest in the Middle East, it just takes one terrorist attack or something to happen and the price for fuel goes right back up," said Schneider. "Looking at the big picture, if we could lock in for around $1.57 per gallon and $2.04 per gallon for soy bio-diesel... we were going to take it."

Because fuel costs skyrocketed in 2008, the school corporation had to transfer money from the general fund in order to keep the transportation budget afloat.

"Obviously, back in December of 2007, we couldn't see gasoline being above $4 per gallon," said Schneider. "These prices (that the school corporation has locked in) are well within the transportation budget, so we feel like this is going to be a good deal."

Warrick County locked in its 2009 fuel rates with gas at $1.57 per gallon through the Posey County Co-op, $2.06 per gallon for premium soy bio-diesel for on-road vehicles and $1.90 per gallon for premium soy bio-diesel for off-road vehicles, both through Superior Ag.

Just as the case with the school corporation, the Warrick County Commissioners locked in these prices last December.

This was a major decrease from the prices locked in for 2008.

Joe Grassman, county purchasing manager, said in 2008, the price for gas was $2.74 per gallon, on-road soy bio-diesel was $2.91 and off-road soy bio-diesel was $2.73.

"Even though the prices were higher last year," he said, "we still saved an incredible amount of money over what we would have paid at the pump."

He added that at the time, those were good gas prices.

When it comes down to getting a clear cut answer or sound advice, Grassman said it is easier said than done.

"We ask a lot of questions of everybody who is involved in the oil industry, our suppliers especially," he said. "I've asked everybody in the world and the first thing they will say is, 'We don't have any idea.' The experts don't even know so how are we supposed to know. You just have to step up to the plate and take a swing at it."

Grassman said he can't imagine fuel costs dropping much lower, making this year's locked in rates favorable.

"We can't imagine it going a whole lot lower, but we can imagine it going higher," he said. "We feel pretty confident that it is a good price."

While Grassman said officials try to make an educated guess, it doesn't really exist.

"An educated guess is an oxymoron in the oil industry because you never know what is going to happen," he said. "After paying almost $4 per gallon for gas and over $4 per gallon for diesel fuel last year at the pump, we just felt really confident that those prices that we locked in are going to be good prices."

The Warrick County Sheriff's Department uses the majority of gasoline, while the county highway department uses the majority of on-road and off-road diesel.

Sheriff Marvin Heilman said his department, generally, consumes more than 1,000 gallons of gas each week.

Comparing last year's fixed price to this year will result in a savings to taxpayers of approximately $50,000 to $60,000 he said.