Pullman received grants to help replace nine buses

Of the $28.4 million the state received from Volkswagen for violating the state’s Clean Air Act, $12 million of it was allocated to be used to help pay for clean emission school buses throughout the state by replacing old school buses.

Joe Thornton, the Director of Operations for the Pullman School District, learned about the grant for new school buses through the Office of Superintendents for Public Instruction which sent out a bulletin to all the school districts.

Pullman received a grant to switch out up to nine buses over a two year period. At $35,000 per bus, the grant for Pullman will be used to replace the pre-1999 buses with new buses. This school year Pullman replaced four diesel buses. Two of the new buses burn gas and two use clean-burning diesel.

Next school year, Pullman could buy up to five buses.

The gas buses are a bit experimental. Thornton has heard good things about other schools’ success with them, but he needs to make sure the buses have the power to handle the local topography and the seasons. The district might buy all gas buses next year if they work as well as the diesel buses do.

The gas powered buses are priced a little below cost of the diesels.

“It used to be that diesel was less expensive, but that’s not the case anymore,” Thornton said.

The Department of Ecology’s goal is to get rid of all the buses manufactured before 2001.

Thornton noted they would have to replace older buses eventually, but the school district hopes to get the changeover accomplished within the next two years.

Thornton said they didn’t really consider propane because the buses need to take long road trips, and drivers would have to know where they can find propane fuel.

“We need to be certain no matter where our buses go, that we can get fuel,” said Thornton.

Thornton doesn’t think that would be an issue on the west side of the state, but on the east side finding propane could be a problem.

Pullman is one of the largest grant recipients in the state. Only eight school districts were granted for more buses.

Evergreen School District in Clark County topped the state list with 30, Lake Washington and Maryville each received grants for 16.

The other two school districts in Whitman County to receive the grants, Garfield-Palouse and Rosalia, were awarded a grant for a single bus.