Ditching diesel: Fort Worth ISD to buy electric school buses with $6.2M federal grant
The Fort Worth Independent School District is among 18 districts in Texas adding electric school buses to its bus fleet through federal grant money. Fifteen buses will be purchased for $6.2 million.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency first announced Fort Worth ISD as a recipient of the grant in January, and federal officials officially presented the grant to school leaders on Thursday while celebrating the environmental, financial and health benefits behind the new vehicles. The Clean Bus Program funds electric buses and propane and compressed natural gas (or CNG) buses, which are cleaner alternatives to diesel buses.
“Air pollution from older diesel engines is linked to asthma and other conditions that harm students’ health and can cause them to miss school. Phasing out these older diesel engines, which disproportionately affect communities of color and Tribal communities, ensures cleaner air for students, bus drivers, school staff working near bus loading areas, and the communities through which the buses drive each day,” according to the EPA.
Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Angélica Ramsey said the buses will provide “a cleaner, quieter and more efficient mode of transportation” for students that will improve their daily commutes to school, according to a news release.
“By integrating electric buses into our fleet, we are not only reducing our carbon footprint but also directly benefiting our students’ health and well-being. We look forward to seeing the environmental and cost-saving benefits that Fort Worth ISD will experience with these electric-powered school buses,” Ramsey said.
The EPA prioritized the funding for districts with more than 20% of students in poverty and districts located in underserved communities, in addition to rural and Tribal school districts. The Clean School Bus Program has provided almost $3 billion for 8,500 school buses for more than 1,000 schools across the country.
Austin ISD and San Antonio ISD were among other Texas districts to receive funding.
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, a Democrat representing parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, said he was proud to have voted for the legislation, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, that made the program possible and made zero-emissions electric buses accessible to Texas communities.
EPA Region 6 Administrator Earthea Nance called the program and Fort Worth ISD’s grant award “a tremendous investment in environmental justice,” noting how communities of color are disproportionately exposed to pollution.
“Thanks to President Biden’s historic investments in America, fewer children will face asthma risks linked to air pollution as EPA continues to work every single day to create cleaner and healthier communities,” Nance said in the release.
Fort Worth ISD adds the clean buses to its fleet after purchasing 40 other new school buses for $6.6 million to replace its aging vehicles. Almost 36% of the district’s fleet consists of buses more than 10 years old. When the school board finalized this purchase in March, it held off on financing a new barn after officials stated as early as 2020 that the existing facility is “outdated.”
There are 413 buses transporting more than 14,000 students a day across 200 square miles in Fort Worth ISD.
