CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Harrison County Schools is among the three school districts in West Virginia working with U.S. Senator Joe Manchin to re-secure federal funding for all-electric school buses.
Assistant Superintendent Jimmy Lopez said last week’s ruling by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to cut funding to Monongalia, Mineral, and Harrison counties was “disappointing.”
The EPA said the ruling was made because of methodological errors in their identification of rural areas in mountainous regions. Lopez said Harrison County has a lot of hills, but that doesn’t mean the federal funds should be withheld.
“Our roads they bend and turn and go uphill and downhill. There’s no quick way to get anywhere. I know that Senator Manchin has argued that fact and they’re looking to change their methodology moving forward,” Lopez told MetroNews Tuesday.
Manchin released a statement last week where he highlighted his efforts to secure funding.
“For over a decade, I have been working on making sure rural areas within Appalachia receive the federal investments they deserve, and this is a clear example that more work needs to be done. The EPA committed to working with my office to ensure their methodology is improved so these counties can receive full funding in the next grant cycle,” Manchin stated.
Lopez said it’s not smart for the district to dwell on the past. They have their sights set on the next round of funding.
“We’re going to move forward with the next round and see if we have better luck and see if they can re-evaluate the way they use their methodology to look at the criteria to see if you are a county that is eligible for this,” he said.
Harrison County Schools was seeking five all-electric low-emission school buses under the last round of funding.
“The entire grant was only partially funded. Out of 69 buses, the state was to receive 47, so I think Harrison County was going to get four buses at $395,000 a piece,” he said.
A portion of that money, about $20,000, was to be set aside for the charging station.
Lopez said the district still has money to buy an all-electric school bus at around $110,000, which he said is less money than a deisel or gas bus which costs around $140,000.
The district plans to work with GreenPower Motor Company, who manufactures the all-electric buses in South Charleston, to gather accurate numbers for how much non-priority counties will be awarded in the future.
“We’re crunching the numbers to see how much it’s going to cost for the infrastructure and the charging station then we’re going to present to our board of education what has happened,” he said.