By: Emily Pickett, Florida Organizer, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: January 23, 2024
About: Local Award for Environmental Protection Agency Clean School Bus Program Funds
To: Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent and School Board Members
Good afternoon Superintendent Ayres and school board members. My name is Emily Pickett and I’m a mom of two elementary-aged children who attend public school in Tampa Palms. I’m the PTA president at their school and I’m also the Florida organizer for Moms Clean Air Force.
Moms Clean Air Force is a community of more than 1.5 million moms and dads united to protect children from air pollution and climate change. We have 186,000 members here in Florida.
I’m here today on behalf of Moms Clean Air Force to thank you for applying to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program and to congratulate you on the $7.9 million grant you were recently awarded for 20 electric school buses.
Tampa has the most polluted air in all of Florida, and the transportation industry is the leading source of pollution in the form of greenhouse gas emissions.
The big yellow diesel buses that currently transport our kids to and from school each day contribute significantly to this pollution. They spew massive amounts of tailpipe pollution into the air, contributing to health problems like asthma and cancer. What’s worse is that the air inside a school bus is often more toxic than the air behind it. This means children and bus drivers are stuck inside a polluted cabin every time they ride the bus.
Through the adoption of electric school buses, which have zero emissions, our kids and bus drivers will breathe cleaner air each day on their commute to and from school; our communities will have less air pollution; and, Hillsborough County will show its commitment to decreasing its contributions to climate-warming greenhouse gases.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today and celebrate the district’s award for electric school buses!