A state requirement that all school buses be electric may not be kicking in for another decade, but Jamestown Public Schools appears to be on the right track.
Discussion on the upcoming statewide conversion was held among school board members and included input from Carl Pillittieri, JPS director of buildings, grounds and transportation.
“We’re pretty far ahead of the curve, ahead of other districts, where we stand currently,” Pillittieri told Jamestown School Board members at their most recent meeting.
As it stands, new school buses sold in New York will have to be zero-emission by 2027. Further, all school buses on the road will have to be zero-emission by 2035.
Paul Abbott, school board president, criticized what he said has been a “ready, fire, aim approach” by New York with the bus mandate. He questioned how JPS will handle busing students to sporting events far outside the district.
“I know electric cars and the batteries, they go faster when it’s cold, and I’m envisioning a girls basketball game at Williamsville North on a night when it’s 20 degrees out and how that’s going to work,” Abbott said.
Patrick Slagle, school board vice president, said he’s talked to a handful of bus manufacturers and indicated the district might be in a tough position to transport students on a single charge if events are too far from Jamestown.
“It’s kind of like putting the cart before the horse the state did with this whole thing,” Slagle said.
On the local end, Pillittieri said the district will install a charging station outside Strider Field for buses from visiting schools.
In addition, Pillittieri said there’s been discussions between the district and the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities on updating the district’s bus garage to handle an all-electric fleet. He also alluded to funding opportunities through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to study a conversion.
“Really interesting stuff, more to come,” Pillittieri told school board members, “but the nice thing we learned … was that we are far beyond where most districts are, so we’re pretty happy about that.”
He added, “We’re in a really good place right now on the electrification of our fleet.”
Other school districts have begun planning for the transition to electric vehicles as well.
In Frewsburg, Superintendent Shelly O’Boyle recommended establishing a transportation reserve fund for future costs related to electric buses. At a recent school board meeting, O’Boyle said the district has begun to look at goals, develop an appropriate timeline and make sure that the district isn’t too aggressive or too passive with the transition.
“I don’t want to be too fast out of the gate; I don’t want to be too slow out of the gate,” she said.
In September, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that $100 million will be made available on a statewide basis for zero-emission school buses under the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022.
“The commitment of public funds and guidance … puts New York State schools and bus operators on a trajectory to embrace clean transportation and the benefits that it will bring,” Hochul said. “Zero-emission buses will become a hallmark, not only transporting students through our communities, but also demonstrating the promise and possibility of a healthier, environmentally friendly, low-carbon future for our youngest citizens.”
Nonetheless, Abbott believes there are still too many questions yet to be answered.
“People selling the buses are going to make a lot of promises to tell us how great it is,” he said. “Then we got to put our bus drivers in and get our kids back and forth to Buffalo.”
