EPA makes $2.89 million in awards for 8 electric school buses across 4 school districts in Colorado in first round of the Clean School Bus Program

New federal grant program is increasing adoption of electric buses across the state

DENVER — Today the EPA announced awards for the first round of funding of the Clean School Bus Program, which offers grants to school districts for the purchase of new electric school buses. The agency announced that a total of $965 million will be awarded, of which $2.89 million will go to 4 school districts in Colorado to purchase 8 new electric school buses. Electric school buses offer significant health benefits to kids and drivers, as well as improving air quality and lowering fuel and maintenance costs for drivers. 

The funding is the first of five rounds of annual funding the EPA has committed to through the Clean School Bus Program, alongside $65 million of funding from the state that is expected to open in early 2023. With the combination of state and federal funding sources, Colorado school districts have unprecedented access to resources to offset the high upfront cost of new electric buses.

“Electric school buses are healthier for our kids and drivers, cost less for school districts to maintain, and can make a big impact in improving our air quality,” said public health advocate Alex Simon. “With the federal EPA Clean School Bus program combined with the new state funding, Colorado is poised to make significant progress in the transition to a 100% zero-emission fleet over the next five years.”   

The following school districts received awards:

• Big Sandy School District No. 100J ($1.095M / 3 buses)
• East Grand School District No. 2 ($790,000 / 2 buses)
• Primero Reorganized School District No. 2 ($700,000 / 2 buses)
• Sangre de Cristo School District No. Re-22J ($305,000 / 1 bus)

The amount awarded is the maximum the school district can receive, although the exact total may vary depending on the specifics of the bus and charging infrastructure needs for each district.

The CoPIRG Foundation’s recent State of Electric School Buses in Colorado Report found the state had 36 committed electric school buses, ranking 11th nationally in June 2022.