Hillsborough school officials have given the go-ahead to purchase 20 electric school buses months after learning that Hillsborough had been awarded $7.9 million in federal funding for clean school buses and infrastructure.
In discussing the grant receipt at the January 9 school board meeting, Superintendent Van Ayres heralded the grant money for zero-emission vehicles through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus Program grants competition.
“We are appreciative of the hard work of our grants and transportation teams, who were instrumental in distinguishing Hillsborough County Public Schools through the acquisition of these funds,” Ayres said in remarks before the meeting. “We look forward to preparing a plan that will address our infrastructure needs as we enhance our transportation system.”
Now in Hillsborough, it was announced at the school board meeting on May 7 that school board members had agreed to purchase 20 electric school buses, including nine each from Thomas Built Buses Inc. and Blue Bird Corporation and two from Integrated Coach Corporation. The three companies were on a preapproved list provided by the Florida Department of Education.
According to school officials, the 77-passenger buses are to serve specific inner-city routes to the school district’s underserved communities. The buses are expected to be operational in early 2025, giving time for necessary training and infrastructure needs, such as charging stations.
As for costs and savings for the 2024-25 school year, that would be an outlay of $8.4 million, with a projected cost savings of more than $4 million in reduced maintenance costs and fuel savings, according to Hillsborough school officials.
With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Clean School Bus Program provides $5 billion over five fiscal years, 2022 to 2026, to replace existing school buses with zero-emission and clean school buses.
According to a May 29 report from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, “354 electric buses (and 3,400 nationwide) will be rolling into the southeast, providing $114 million in savings to their local school districts.” Moreover, “to date, the program has funded almost $3 billion nationally and 1,392 in [the southeast] region.”
Hillsborough’s 2023 grant application was titled “Schools Are Too Cool for Fuel: Pilot for EV Buses and Infrastructure.”
For more on EPA’s Clean School Bus Program, visit www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus.
