Jun 4, 2024 By Brad Hundt 2 min read

The South Fayette and Bethel Park school districts are among the 530 school districts across the country that will be receiving millions of dollars from the federal government to replace diesel-fueled school buses with clean energy vehicles.

South Fayette will be receiving $1.4 million and Bethel Park will be getting $2 million. The funds will be delivered through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program in the form of rebates. The program is part of the infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed in 2022, and it invests in electric buses that do not have tailpipe emissions, as well as buses that run on natural gas and propane.

In the Pittsburgh region, other districts getting funding include Pine-Richland, Woodland Hills, Moon and Kiski.

In a news release, U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio of the 17th Congressional District said, “This is a big win in the fight to protect our kids from the harmful impacts of air pollution and to improve our region’s air quality.”

Officials in both the Bethel Park and South Fayette school districts say an exact timeline is not yet in place to put clean energy buses on the road.

“Currently we are completing an analysis because the grant does not cover our needed costs to automatically move toward electric buses,” according to Jennifer Donovan, a spokeswoman for the South Fayette School District.

As part of the modernization of its bus garage, the Bethel Park School District put some of the infrastructure in place to charge electric school buses, said Mark Korcinsky, an assistant superintendent who oversees operations and facilities. He said getting a couple of clean energy school buses rolling by the start of the 2025-26 school year “would be ideal,” but nothing has been finalized.

James Walsh, the superintendent of the Bethel Park School District, explained that using clean energy vehicles “is where the whole industry is headed.”

“I think it’s particularly exciting for us,” Walsh added. “We have nothing else in terms of detail. We certainly hope it’s soon.”

Proponents say clean energy school buses will bring cleaner air for students and communities, and also help bus drivers and other school staff that work near school bus loading areas. They point out that diesel air pollution has been linked to asthma and other conditions.

Between grant funding and rebates, the EPA has provided almost $3 billion to replace 8,500 school buses at 1,000 schools.