Hundreds of Ventura County students used to hopping on a bus to get to school will be out of luck when they head back to classes this fall.

School districts in Camarillo, Moorpark and other areas are scaling back or eliminating bus service for some regular riders, except special education students, citing the state budget crisis and rising fuel costs.

Students instead will have to take a city bus, carpool, drive, walk or ride a bicycle — for miles in some cases.

"This is a terrible cut nobody wanted to make," said Assistant Superintendent Larry Brown of the Moorpark Unified School District. "We truly understand how hard this is (for families). ... This is crisis mode."

Moorpark Unified has decided to eliminate bus service for high school students, saving $150,000. The district had to make about $3 million in overall cuts.

Home-to-school transportation funding has not been fully funded by the state for decades, meaning school districts have to find other money to fill the gap. On top of that, the governor has proposed a 6 percent-plus cut for transportation this school year, leaving districts footing even more of the bill.

"The district studied various options and ultimately made the difficult decision to cut services for older students in order to retain transportation for younger children," Moorpark Superintendent Ellen Smith wrote in a letter sent last month to parents.

The Pleasant Valley School District in Camarillo has decided to significantly cut busing too, but officials have not decided exactly what routes will go.

"We're still looking at what to do," said Assistant Superintendent Linda Bekeny. The district might have to eliminate bus service for all kindergartners through eighth-graders except special education students, but officials are trying to save some routes. In the meantime, parents are worried.

"Bus transportation is a big concern of mine," said Camarillo parent Nadine Beck. She has a child slated to take the bus to middle school. If it's not available, Beck will likely find a way to drive to and from school. But other families might not have that option, she said, particularly if both parents work early in the morning.

She sees early-bird students waiting each morning outside her neighborhood school until the gates are unlocked and they can go inside. That might happen even more in the fall.

"It will be interesting to see how September goes," Beck said. "I think there are going to be absences and ... maybe home school will take off."

In past years, Pleasant Valley has provided transportation for students who live 3 or more miles from school or face a safety issue, such as having to walk across the freeway or railroad tracks. About 300 students took buses last year, Bekeny said, and the district spends nearly $1 million a year on its aging fleet of buses and other transportation costs. That's more than double what Pleasant Valley receives from the state for busing.

Some of the expected bus savings will come from layoffs or reduced work hours, although the district has yet to take those actions.

Pleasant Valley hopes to consolidate routes and cut costs, so some busing can be provided, Bekeny said. The district also asked parents to fill out a survey on whether they would pay user fees to keep buses rolling, but the response did not seem positive, Bekeny said. In Simi Valley and Conejo Valley, families have paid bus fees for more than a decade.

Moorpark parent Heike Grimaldo said it's better to cut busing for high school students than younger children. Many high school students can drive or have other options that kindergartners don't. Last school year, an average of 239 Moorpark High School students took the bus in the morning and 215 in the afternoon.

This summer, Moorpark officials are focused on getting the word out to families, so students aren't waiting in vain at bus stops on the first day of school. Brown said district officials know it could be a hardship, but "we feel like there are other options."