CONTACT: Sasha Tenenbaum
Senior Manager, Media and Public Engagement
stenenbaum@momscleanairforce.org
(917) 887-0146
Pennsylvania—This week, the Scranton School District got one step closer to finalizing plans to accept the Environmental Protection Agency’s 25 awarded electric school buses. Parents across Pennsylvania applaud the school board’s affirmative vote and look forward to the clean air benefits Scranton students will soon enjoy.
The Scranton School District was one of the recipients of the first round of funding distributed by the Clean School Bus Program, a $5 billion, 5-year investment in clean school buses for our nation’s children as allocated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Law passed by Congress in 2021.
Moms Clean Air Force worked tirelessly in Pennsylvania and beyond to educate local school districts about the importance of replacing dirty diesel buses with zero-tailpipe-pollution electric buses and urged districts to apply during the first application period last summer.
To date, EPA’s funding includes $41 million for 11 Pennsylvania school districts to receive a total of 108 electric school buses for the state.
In response, the Moms Clean Air Force’s Pennsylvania Chapter issued the following statements:
“My child and I both suffer from asthma as do over 12,000 children in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre area. Research shows adopting clean technologies for school buses lowers the risk of school absenteeism, decreases lung inflammation, and results in less missed work for parents,” said Brooke Petry, a Moms Clean Air Force Pennsylvania Coordinator in Philadelphia. “Electric school buses will help to reduce diesel emissions throughout Scranton. The more we reduce diesel pollution, the easier our children will breathe, which is especially true for kids with asthma.”
“The over 9,000 students in the Scranton School District will soon see half of their iconic yellow school bus fleet electrified. This is a step in the right direction toward a future where all kids can equitably breathe clean air on their ride to school,” said Vanessa Lynch, a Moms Clean Air Force Pennsylvania Coordinator near Pittsburgh. “Our kids, our bus drivers, and our communities are ecstatic about the opportunity to breathe cleaner air.”
Local families expressed enthusiasm for allowing the Scranton School District resolution to finalize plans to accept the 25 electric school buses awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency:
“I’m thrilled the Scranton School Directors have agreed to extending the bus contract to allow participation in the electric bus program. Our children deserve to ride in clean new buses that are safer for our environment. We are very lucky to have been given this opportunity, “ Linda Crofton, resident of Scranton, PA.
BACKGROUND
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Law (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) included $5 billion to help school districts buy electric school buses. The law charged EPA with distributing the funds over 5 years. School districts submitted the first round of funding applications in August 2022. EPA received so much interest in the grant program that the agency doubled the amount of funding to be distributed this year, to nearly $1 billion nationwide.
Pennsylvania districts that will receive funding for electric school buses in the first year are Avella Area, Greater Nanticoke Area, Halifax Area, Harrisburg City, Mifflin County, Northern Potter, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Steelton-Highspire, Troy Area, and Washington.
The initial round of funding prioritized low-income, rural, and Tribal school districts. However, all school districts are eligible for funding. EPA will be awarding more money in future years. All school districts, whether selected this round or not, should apply for future rounds of funding.