A plan to buy 15 new school buses for the Clarke County School District stalled out earlier this week over concerns about their fuel source.
School district officials want to buy 12 new propane-powered buses, along with three traditional diesel-powered buses for longer field trips. But some Board of Education members questioned whether the district should instead be investing in electric buses instead of propane.
Pollution and health concerns
At a work session on Thursday, board member Tim Denson was concerned about the district’s seeming long-term investment in propane buses over electric ones.
"The idea of still buying propane buses with a 20 year lifespan, putting us into 2050 of us still using a fossil fuel system that actually creates more carbon than diesel does, I share some pretty grave concerns," he said.
Board member Patricia Yager also noted that propane buses produce significant emissions and tied that to health issues that affect the district’s students.
"Specifically asthma rates, which are produced from air pollution, which is produced by our propane buses as well as our diesel and gas buses. Asthma rates are the number one reason why kids don't go to school because they stay home with difficulty breathing," Yager said.
Yager also criticized the content of a presentation prepared by district officials that seemed to be weighted in favor of propane buses instead of electric ones, calling some of the district’s listed disadvantages of electric buses, “pearl clutching.”
"I feel a little bit like you had a decision already before you prepared this presentation, and I'm quite discouraged by that," she said. "I would really like to see a more objective approach."
Range issues
One of the disadvantages of electric buses noted by district officials is their range. In their presentation, district staff contended that electric buses have a range of between 80 – 120 miles before needing a recharge, compared to a range of up to 340 miles before refueling for propane buses or up to 650 miles for a traditional gas- or diesel-powered bus.
But when questioned by board members, the district’s Assistant Director of Finance and Technology, Jim Gurley, said that most of the district’s existing bus routes could work within the range limitations of electric buses.
"If you simply stick to routing, don't do midday, don't do field trips, don't do after school, you're probably looking more in the 30 [mile] range," Gurley told board members.
Counting in that extra driving, according to school district data, the average bus traveled around 70 miles per day.
The school district bought its first propane powered buses in 2020. Today, 33 of the district’s 153 buses – about 22 percent – are propane powered.
Among the other disadvantages of electric buses, according to district staff, is their cost – between $320,000 and $500,000 per bus. That’s compared to around $150,000 for a propane bus. Fast chargers for electric buses cost around $212,000 each.
At a voting meeting following their work session, the Board of Education voted 6-2 to postpone a vote on the new buses until at least next month.
