Yes, busing is a tough question, and an extreemly difficult one to put into a true perspective, unless one thinks of the children and not the dollars that is. It is a necessary evil of the times, especially to where "cost" as you have put it is concerned. The cost of a fair and equal education for all is the true necessity, and what price does one place upon that? "Ratios" as you again put it, are far from being equaly perportionate to where racial migration in this country happens to be constantly changed and distributed, meaning in urban vs. suburban areas. Here is a look at the last census taken in 2000 for the total populative distribution in the USA on a national basis: White alone 215,333,394 +/-115,546 Black or African American alone 34,962,569 +/-41,001 American Indian and Alaska Native alone 2,357,544 +/-22,280 Asian alone 12,471,815 +/-30,771 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 397,030 +/-10,869 Some other race alone 17,298,601 +/-121,998 Two or more races: 5,557,184 +/-63,453 Two races including Some other race 1,246,041 +/-32,675 Two races excluding Some other race, and three or more races 4,311,143 +/-53,469 As one can see, any of the other ethnic ratios in comparison to caucasional whites are far from being even in any way shape or form. Especially when 90% of whites, for the whatever reason may be, are in the higher dollar districts and given more to educate from the much greater property tax values of suburbs, compared to the next highest ratio, meaning those 90% of African American decent, who for whatever the reasons may be, are settled with-in the much lower dollar generating urban or southern rural districts as a whole. Costs are costs true, but when one looks at the dollars given to the different class district areas, it comes down to how much can be spent per student, and that, without the bussing program, would, and deffinitely does differ drastically in it's accordance ability to provide a fair and equal education for all. Then, that cost of an unequal education for all would become even a greater cost to us all, and for our children as a whole, without some kind of program to provide it. Yes, I do agree, bussing is a very poor solution to an ever growing problem, but it's truly a better solution than nothing at all, or at least until all districts are zoned in accordance to a set and unchangeable boundry of area, instead of it's ever changing representation and relationship to it's voting powers, and how they can be affected by a change in the areas represented ethnicity factions. This was a good question, and points were given to ya for this very important quandry. Peace!