Federal budget restrictions are putting some grants in jeopardy that could halt Unionville-Chadds Ford School District’s move to buy electric buses. That’s the word from James Whitesel, the district’s director of facilities.
The school board has been talking about getting five electric school buses for more than a year and has applied for grants to offset the cost. But there’s a wrinkle. Whitesel told the school board earlier this week that if the grants don’t come through and the purchase can’t go through, then the district will have to buy new diesel buses.
For background, he said the district was awarded a $1 million clean school bus rebate from the EPA in May. That gave the district $200,000 per bus for up to five electric buses. In August, the district was awarded a $312,000 state grant that would also help reduce the price to the district. In November, the board voted to move forward with the purchase of the electric buses.
“This decision was made primarily because of the grant funding, this was by far the cheapest option for our annual bus replacement, including a lower upfront capital cost, as well as a lower operating cost,” Whitesel said.
[The district maintains a fleet of 70 vehicles, 54 buses with capacities of 72 or 81 passengers, and 16 smaller school vans that can transport nine people each. About four or five vehicles are replaced on an annual basis, usually four to five per year, with each vehicle having a life of about 13 years.]
After the vote in November, the district began gathering cost estimates for upgrading the bus garage so it can handle charging the electric buses, he added.
Whitesel said it was necessary to get that upgraded infrastructure in place before they got the new buses. That upgrade has a price tag of $55,200 for five new chargers and $144,000 for transformers, outdoor switch gear, underground conduits, and the installation of items, for a total cost of $199,200. The district had budgeted $300,000 for the project in the Longe-Range Facilities Plan.
But the wrinkle came in January when the district received the federal funds budget freeze memo, which froze all federal funds, he said.
“This was rescinded, but not really rescinded,” Whitesel said.
He continued to explain that there have been several lawsuits, including one from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, as well as some court rulings saying the freeze is against the law. And there has been the firing of some EPA staff. Some of those people Whitesel had been in contact with. before the freeze and firings and has tried to get information since but to no avail.
“The only real connection to the EPA right now is the EPA portal, and that portal remains shut down,” he said.
If the grant and rebate money don’t come in, the district will need to buy five 72-passenger diesel buses to replace the electric vehicles.
And there’s a deadline involved that adds to the uncertainty.
As he said in an email to Chadds Ford Live after the meeting, “The deadline comes in because if we are going to proceed with the electric buses, we need to approve a $200,000 proposal for the electrical infrastructure upgrades at our bus garage this month. Why approve that money if we aren't going to get the bus money?”
If the district needs to buy diesel, the total cost for five would be $728,000, with each bus costing $145,604, according to Whitesel. There was $700,000 budgeted in the Long-Range Facilities Plan for the 2025 bus purchase.
A decision needs to be made, and Whitesel’s recommendation is that the board wait as long as it possibly can, which means next Monday’s meeting.
“Unless we see any movement on the rebate portal or any announcement that the EPA funds are indeed released, we’re going to err on the side of budget certainty and recommend and recommend [buying the diesel buses].
Next week’s meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Chadds Ford Elementary School.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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