Southern School District Writes Grant For Electric Bus

By Gordon HopkinsAt a meeting of the Southern School District Board of Education on Monday, November 4, 2022, Superintendent Dr. Christopher Prososki indicated he had written a grant for an electric bus, “So I wrote the grant with Tyler Cox at Blue Bird for the $375,000 bus and the $20,000 electric charging station. I thought more people got this grant but we’re only actually one of six school districts in Nebraska.”Tyler Cox is a general manager at Blue Bird, a company that provides electric buses in Nebraska and Colorado.Charging Electric BusesA major concern in the debate over electric vehicles in Nebraska has been charging stations, as charging stations are few and far between in the state, especially in more rural areas. There will have to be a charging station at the school. Dr. Prososki said, “My biggest concern has always been, let’s make sure we have the charging stations.”There are two options for charging stations. A ‘level two’ station is a 240 volt power source. A ‘level three’ station is a three-phase, 480 volt power source. Level two would cost $1,000 and requires a charging time of eights hours for one bus. A level three station would cost between $25,000 to $30,000 but would only require three hours charging time.Dr. Prososki discussed these options with a representative at Blue Bird, “His recommendation, if you could spend the extra money, would be to do both of those. The biggest thing, if your fleet gets bigger down the road, obviously three hours, you may need to do. Secondly, say that three hour one goes out, that level three goes out and you have a level (two) to fall back upon.”The grant only covers $20,000 for a charging station, so the school would have to find the funds to cover the balance. However, given rising costs, Dr. Prososki suggested it would be worth preparing for possible expansion now, “Two years down the road, $25,000 may be $50,000. So, you get a brand new bus, a brand new charging station and only have to spend $5,000. I don’t think that would be a ton of money.”The board did not make a decision at the meeting. Dr. Prososki said there was time to decide, “The charging station, we can think it over and talk over December or obviously January board meeting.”As for the bus, itself, lead time is expected to be six months.Advantages to Electric BusesBecause electric buses do not burn fuel, they do not produce emissions like gasoline-powered vehicles, although it is important to remember that the production of the electricity itself will have some environmental impact, depending on how that electricity is generated.In addition to using electricity instead of gasoline as fuel, Blue Bird indicates there are several maintenance advantages to electric vehicles, including:• No Engine Oil Changes• No Engine Air Filter Change• No Smog Check/Testing• No Spark or Glow Plug, or Coil Replacements• No Transmission Maintenance• Brake Pad Change Intervals are Longer• Fewer Coolant Changes NeededThis information comes from Blue Bird’s website and has not been independently verified by FJN.OppositionNot everyone is supportive of acquiring an electric school bus. Dr. Prososki noted, “It has become political like everything else I know, I fielded some rather strange phone calls. No, not about the cost.”Dr. Prososki said the calls were ‘political in nature,’ but did not elaborate further, “I’m not going to spend my time talking about it.”

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