OVERLAND — Ritenour School District is finally on the cusp of getting its long-awaited fleet of new electric buses, after federal grant funding to purchase the vehicles was halted by President Donald Trump’s far-reaching freeze on government spending — leaving almost all of the buses undelivered, parked roughly an hour away.
For weeks, the disruption and financial uncertainty had left the north St. Louis County school district in a lurch, all while shouldering the higher costs associated with its aging diesel bus fleet. At the same time, a local company that had already installed the charging equipment for the vehicles was owed more than $800,000 for its work, according to the district.
But this week, the bulk of the $9.5 million grant awarded more than a year ago by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finally came through. The remaining 21 electric buses will start arriving “over the coming weeks,†joining the three electric buses that the district had already received, said Michelle Mueller, a spokeswoman for the district.
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“It’s great news,†she said. “Now that we have the money in hand, we can start putting everything in motion.â€
Throughout recent weeks, Mueller said that Ritenour’s chief financial officer had been feverishly making multiple attempts to complete the transaction, day after day. On an attempt Wednesday, the account was finally “unsuspended,†Mueller said, adding that she was not aware of any notification or explanation of the change from governmen officials.
At that time, the district was able to draw down the final $8.3 million in grant funds, to pay for the completed charging stations and for the remaining buses.
Besides eliminating the emissions from Ritenour’s diesel bus fleet, the district expects the switch to save $3.3 million over the next five to eight years, by dramatically slashing fuel and maintenance costs. And the district won’t have to replace diesel buses, Mueller said.
“We had remained optimistic that the funds would be released and that we would be able to get to the finish line with our electric bus project,†said Ritenour Superintendent Chris Kilbride, in a Friday press release.
“Although it was frustrating that the funds had been suspended, in the end, we are happy that we will have 24 electric school buses that were promised as part of the EPA grant and that no local funds were used.â€
As more school districts purchase electric school buses, some have questioned their ability to operate in extremely cold weather. A school district in Tok, Alaska put their new electric school bus to the test.
