Contact: Sarah McBride, smcbride@momscleanairforce.org
Sara Klein, sara_klein@dkcnews.com, 631-905-6403
This Thursday, Moms Clean Air Force will join lawmakers and business leaders for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Steelton-Highspire High School as they begin deploying brand new electric school buses. The event will also feature a ‘ride-along’ in an electric bus and a press conference. The event comes as Steelton-Highspire replaces six of the school district’s seven buses with electric, emissions-free buses through funding awarded by the EPA Clean School Bus Program and President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda.
Moms Clean Air Force’s Pennsylvania field organizer, Vanessa Lynch, is one of the speakers at the press conference. Vanessa’s speech includes the following excerpt:
“Steelton Highspire students can breathe a little easier as they ride to school each day, and these electric school buses will enhance the lives of families across the Roller Nation community with the benefits of cleaner air. Tailpipe pollution from buses can lead to asthma attacks, interfere with lung development, contribute to cancer — and even reduce children’s ability to learn. As any parent of a child with asthma knows, a bad asthma day can lead to kids having to miss school and parents having to take off work to care for them. Historically Black, Brown and Indigenous communities face a heavier burden of air pollution and environmental impacts than others. With 1.4 million students across Pennsylvania riding school buses each day, electric school buses can’t show up fast enough.”
Electric school buses will dramatically improve air quality in and around schools; replacing just one diesel school bus with an electric school bus can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54,000 pounds each year.
WHO: Speakers at the press conference include:
- Kevin Matthews, Head of Electrification for First Student
- Rep. Dave Madsen, Pennsylvania State Representative
- Dr. Mick Iskric, Superintendent of Steelton-Highspire School District
- Mark “JJ” Carnes, Business Manager for Steelton-Highspire School District
- Lisa Norden, Vice President of Customer Service for PPL Electric Utilities
- Shannon Crooker, Pennsylvania Director for Generation 180
- Vanessa Lynch, Pennsylvania Field Organizer for Moms Clean Air Force
WHEN: Thursday, April 25 at 1 PM ET
WHERE: Steelton-Highspire High School
RESOURCES: