ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The new state budget allows up to a 4-year extension for school districts if they are unable to comply with the 2027 deadline to begin purchasing zero-emission school buses.
The Commissioner of Education has been empowered to grant extensions if factors outside the district’s control, like market availability, infrastructure and/or availability of state or federal grants are impeding the ability to begin making purchases or leasing electric school buses.
The News10NBC Investigative team has reported extensively on the challenges districts are facing with the state’s mandate that they stop buying new diesel buses by 2027 and stop using all diesel buses by 2035.
From a lack of power infrastructure to concerns about battery life, availability and the sheer cost of this transition, districts have faced numerous obstacles.
News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke spoke with Governor Kathy Hochul about those concerns a few months ago.
Jennifer Lewke, News10NBC: “Have you had discussions about possibly delaying the timeline to this?”
Governor Kathy Hochul: “Absolutely, we’ve been having many conversations. This is aspirational we want this to happen, but we also have to take into consideration that there are circumstances that have changed since this went into law.”
NYS Assemblymember Josh Jensen, a republican from Greece is relieved to see the extension included in this year’s state budget. “I don’t think school districts not just in Monroe county but across the state could have done anything more than start throwing rocks at her window in the Governor’s mansion at night to get her attention on this so, I think it shows that advocacy works, that when people talk in good faith as subject matter experts, a smart elected official, a smart public servant will hopefully listen and at least in this respect, to a degree, we’ve seen a step in a positive direction but there’s still a lot of that marathon left to go,” Jensen says.
In addition to the extension, the state budget also includes an additional $100 million that districts can apply for in order to offset the cost of electric buses, bringing the total to around $600 million available.
Before news of the extension, a number of local districts put the purchase of some electric buses out to voters in propositions on the ballot next week.
Leaders in the Churchville-Chili school district are asking voters to approve the purchase of 10 new electric buses at a cost of around $458,000 each. They say state grants and aid will cover a majority of the cost and the district will use cash in its reserve fund to pay for whatever remains.
The district says by acting now, it can take advantage of the state’s limited-time funding opportunities and avoid higher costs in the future.
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News10NBC Investigates: NYS to allow up to 4-year extension for school districts to comply with electric bus mandate WHEC.com.
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