Amy Dominguez, Amy.Dominguez@sierraclub.org
Salt Lake City, UT – In a win for west side students, community members, and clean air advocates, this Tuesday, the Guadalupe School was awarded funding for four electric school buses as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America Agenda. The new buses will replace the school’s current diesel fleet, reducing school bus emissions and pollution in the surrounding neighborhoods where they operate.
The grant is part of the Clean School Bus Program which was created by the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA) to protect children and improve air quality. Through the IIJA, three districts in Utah have received funding for electric school buses since 2021, totaling approximately $5 million in federal funding: Uintah, Tintic, Morgan, and Guadalupe School.
Salt Lake City is designated as a nonattainment area for ozone, PM 2.5, and sulfur dioxide levels that exceed regulatory standards. Exacerbated by industrial activities and the burning of gas, coal, and oil that degrade air quality, negatively impacting public health, west side communities bear a disproportionate air burden.
Transitioning from fossil fuels and demonstrating the viability of a fully electric school bus fleet, Guadalupe School will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease exposure to harmful pollutants for students and bus drivers.
Highland Electric Fleets will be purchasing the buses for Utah schools and for new buses in Colorado as part of Highland Fleets “Greening Our School Bus Fleets to Improve Air Quality in Region 8" Grant, a comprehensive funding award totaling $12,226,000.
Applications for the 2023 Clean School Bus Rebate Program are being accepted until January 31, 2024. Advocates groups are calling on local districts to apply and leverage opportunities to electrify school bus fleets.
“We work every day to build a better future for our students and their families,” said Richard Pater, Executive Director of Guadalupe School. “This investment into a new electric bus fleet is a step towards not only safer and healthier trips to and from school for more than 300 of our students, but also cleaner air for our neighborhoods and communities. We are thrilled to be at the forefront of getting zero-emission school buses into Utah and hope other schools will follow suit.”
“Guadalupe School's transition to a fully electric fleet represents a significant effort in addressing air pollution and cleaning up the air in Salt Lake City communities," said Rebekah Ashley, Lead Climate and Energy Organizer for the Sierra Club’s Utah Chapter. “We applaud Guadalupe School's commitment to electrifying their fleet and hope to see similar coalition efforts in the 2024 Clean School Bus funding rounds. With $1 billion available annually through 2026 from the Clean School Bus Program, this marks a critical moment to mobilize resources for clean air and healthy communities.”
“Thanks to funding from the EPA Clean School Bus Grant Program and support from a robust coalition of partners, we are proud of this huge step forward in deploying electric school buses across our front range and mountain communities in two states,” said Jane Israel, Western Regional Manager of Highland Electric Fleets. “We look forward to demonstrating that all communities can access the benefits of electric school buses, including the positive impacts they have on the health and well-being of students and everyone in the broader community.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.