Thirteen Maine school districts are among about 400 districts nationwide receiving nearly $1 billion in rebates from the federal government to purchase electric school buses.
The program, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday, will support the purchase of around 2,500 school buses nationwide. Maine school districts selected to participate in the program are set to receive $13 million to purchase 34 electric school buses, the EPA said.
The Wells-Ogunquit school district is to receive the most funding – $4.3 million – of all the Maine school districts awarded rebate money. The federal funding will allow the school district to replace almost all of its diesel-powered school buses with electric buses.
“Without the federal Clean Bus Rebate program our district would not be in a financial position to purchase 11 new electric school buses,” Wells-Ogunquit Superintendent James Daly said.
Daly said the program provided his district with a tremendous opportunity to purchase new buses and help the environment.
The other school districts to receive rebate money are Dayton Public Schools, Winthrop Public Schools, Pleasant Point School District, RSU 57 in Waterboro, RSU 12 in Sheepscot Valley, RSU 20 in Searsport, Castine Public Schools, East Range Community School District, RSU 83 in Kennebec Valley, Southwest Harbor Public Schools, Waite Public Schools and the Mount Desert Community School District.
“As many as 25 million children rely on the bus to get to school each day,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement announcing the program. “Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration, we are making an unprecedented investment in our children’s health, especially in those communities overburdened by air pollution. This is just the beginning of our work to build a healthier future, reduce climate pollution and ensure the clean, breathable air that all our children deserve.”
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