[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6306861,"mediaKeyId","2436212-7a23e39c6ecf0d6c0563e6788cbc1ce0","parentId",2436212,"title","Board hears options for bus proposition as district weighs EV grants, operational limits","audioSeconds",2476,"startMs",3599000,"endMs",6075000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2436212-7a23e39c6ecf0d6c0563e6788cbc1ce0&start=3599&end=6075","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2436212-7a23e39c6ecf0d6c0563e6788cbc1ce0/thumbnail_3599000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6306861/New-York/Board-hears-options-for-bus-proposition-as-district-weighs-EV-grants-operational-limits","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6306861-c61170fdc3d08fc916b7c9818b25b35f/orig.mp4?Expires=1774944981&Signature=ZcRwKnluUEFT-vkKeKPM0i~FVm4fVclhKN4gAZ8iljH6yEx3SzqbAbT8XPFezd5rOKD6IqbYzuExVXiAn0v6rk3mCxBI8C1PRRgy5MfspCFORjpOMmg0TAYY0wafxe9~YFjQzHhjGDOiR30XYNuREGDsTL8FvRWTxxYOarU7PDlkbQzsXhFn1n4W~E0HmjTRKgNGxLwAgXMMVrokWulhAOciEIsBwK6YvZxaAg4Qm8bFIxMxaMsGUrp4LhjT0ZUEI9UG1yv8d8f5qhAAaLBAKxMdNmNVznuBe11fhsKi1efbu9ik4OfI5pv7XnFvwb6jAlnKfZBTMaD-WMzrpLuhHg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-02-27T16:15:58Z","article","Ellen Dorado, the district’s director of student transportation, and John McPhillips of the business office laid out options for a May bus proposition and detailed operational experience with electric buses acquired under the district’s capital program.

Dorado told the board the district currently expects to have 10 electric buses on site after recent deliveries and that electric vehicles present operational limitations: cold weather and terrain reduced range in some runs, manufacturers’ warranty work has required dealer servicing, and some EV maintenance items are limited to manufacturer/authorized dealers. “Buses were going out in the morning and coming back with less than 50%, so they were unable to make up that charge and the [battery] so they could go back out for their afternoon run,” Dorado said, describing winter performance. She also described mandatory EV maintenance programs costing about $2,000 per vehicle per year on top of regular maintenance.

Financial tradeoffs and grants: transportation and business staff outlined a layered funding picture. Federal EPA Clean School Bus grants provide up to $200,000 per EV bus; New York State’s NYSERDA voucher program offered base vouchers of up to $147,000 with add‑ons for vehicle-to-grid capability and scrappage. John McPhillips said that because the district submitted applications in advance, the combination of available EPA and NYSERDA awards could — under the then-current rules — reduce the net local cost of certain EV buses to zero. But McPhillips warned that some federal grant funding was in an uncertain administrative status and that NYSERDA rules had changed, limiting how awards stack. “While the funding…is the largest source of funding, and given some of the pauses instituted at the federal level, we wanted to make sure that that funding was secure,” he said.

Recommendation and operational risk: given grant uncertainty and early operational issues, staff recommended a cautious ballot proposal: purchase three large and three small diesel/gas buses (six total), rather than immediately adding more EVs. That diesel proposition would cost an estimated $814,000 gross, with state aid reimbursement expected to cover a portion; staff estimated a five‑year net impact to local taxpayers of roughly $278,000 for that diesel alternative. Staff also proposed a separate modest, near-term investment of $22,750 for EV charge‑management software (Mobility House) to improve charging efficiency and data collection for the existing EV fleet.

Board questions covered contingency drafting and ballot structure. One board member asked whether the district could frame a proposition that included diesel buses plus conditional EV buses if grant awards remained available; staff said propositions can be written in different ways but warned that including multiple conditional items can complicate ballot language and voter messaging. Dorado clarified federal grant rules: EPA awards typically require that a diesel bus be sold, donated, or scrapped when replaced by an EPA-funded EV bus.

Staff emphasized hiring and staffing constraints that shape routing. Dorado said the department is budgeted for 70 driver positions and 30 attendants but is operating with roughly 53 drivers and 21 attendants; the proposal to reduce budgeted positions to 65 drivers and 27 attendants would net budget savings while reflecting actual staffing realities.

Why it matters: bus fleet choices affect student transportation reliability, operating costs, and long-term capital planning amid state and federal electrification mandates. The board asked staff to consult counsel on proposition language and advised caution about relying on grants that may be administratively uncertain.

Provenance: the transportation presentation, Q&A and recommendation ran from the transportation segment beginning with Dorado’s remarks through the follow-up questions and staff responses about grants and proposition options.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","BCSD Board of Education meting 2/26/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Transportation staff recommended a cautious bus-proposition approach after describing operational challenges with electric buses, grant uncertainty from the EPA and NYSERDA rules, and existing fleet and staffing constraints.","taxTitle","BETHLEHEM CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, School Districts, New York","taxId",57191,"location","New York","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6306866,"Bethlehem budget preview: pilot extension cuts planned tax increase but leaves gap to close",4924,863000,5787000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2436212-7a23e39c6ecf0d6c0563e6788cbc1ce0&start=863&end=5787","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2436212-7a23e39c6ecf0d6c0563e6788cbc1ce0/thumbnail_863000.jpg","/articles/6306866/New-York/Bethlehem-budget-preview-pilot-extension-cuts-planned-tax-increase-but-leaves-gap-to-close","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6306866-5bebce9273938a48822cefbb7ed4c684/orig.mp4?Expires=1774944981&Signature=HcTpPs3rg~d1HDQdta-IHyuP8WsSUZUJjg~YcaZxypX5hc-E-MoSLCp8iFG0nBuyN8mq8CXbty9AFWwKAe90DW2yI6KHq7i8hNKoPol7YBtjKGxyUJTIIrtMPnAjlyXrW6VJ9KmOkr80k5oyH1IzpHt47D-BF8HKNQJRtZML1hb5lO~eUMJ1QYq7XKFnmzrvqLo8ajXBYIe6LYr7yDuHtRU8IR72fX4HmthPo~JLPeUuWBvOEfGbEpJI0H35PmetRAyEKYKDkOYQCywcQ-tV3~3VFwe4OtBivhBU7dkFXXBisoVOsdJ5py5lPOSM~3lv521du2c~uQZaoW8VymSdpQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","John McPhillips, presenting on behalf of the business office, gave the board an initial look at the Bethlehem Central School District’s proposed 2025–26 budget, saying the figures were still “in draft form” and likely to change before final adoption.

McPhillips said the district’s preliminary budget shows $117.5 million in expenditures against roughly $111.2 million in projected revenue, producing an initial gap of about $6.3 million that would have required an 8.6% tax levy increase if left unaddressed. He told the board that an unexpected action by the Bethlehem Industrial Development Agency earlier the same morning altered that math: the IDA approved another one-year extension of the PILOT agreement for the site now known as GB2 Power New York LLC, keeping roughly $3,476,000 in pilot revenue for the district for 2025–26.

“The initial gap today or before this morning was $6,300,000. That does not include the pilot revenue coming back on,” McPhillips said, adding that with the PILOT included the gap would shrink to about $2.8 million and would translate to a draft tax-levy increase of roughly 2.8% before other adjustments.

Why it matters: the district calculates its allowable tax-levy increase under New York’s property tax cap law; McPhillips said the tax-cap calculation treats PILOT payments and tax revenue “as sort of tax, taxable dollars,” so the late retention of the PILOT reduces the maximum levy the district can lawfully propose without a voter override. He said the tax-cap formula limits the district to about a 1.1% levy increase for 2025–26 unless the board seeks an override that would require a 60%+1 approval by voters.

McPhillips walked the board through major revenue and expense drivers: school taxes (just under two-thirds of revenue), state foundation aid (about 31%), and a roughly $3.5 million loss tied to earlier PSEG/Vista Tech Park pilot revenue the district had planned for in prior cycles. On the expenditure side, salaries and fringe comprise the largest shares — roughly $60.8 million for salaries and $30.8 million for fringe benefits — and McPhillips highlighted a roughly $2 million (12%) projected increase in health-insurance costs and a projected 20% rise in pharmaceutical costs for the district’s self-insured plan.

McPhillips characterized the draft as “conservative” — meaning requests were pared to needs rather than wants — and warned the board that the district has reduced some of its financial flexibility to contain the levy increase. He also noted federal funding streams that are not reflected in the general fund (reflected instead in the F fund), about $2.3 million in total federal allocations, and cautioned that changes in federal-to-state funding flows could affect state aid down the line.

On reserves and capital planning, McPhillips proposed placing a new capital reserve on the May ballot. He explained the district’s existing 2022 capital reserve has a not-to-exceed cap of $20 million, of which $17.2 million has been funded to date; some leftover funds from earlier projects will add roughly $1.4 million back to that reserve. The proposed ballot measure would ask voters to allow a new reserve the district can fund in future years if year-end funds permit; McPhillips emphasized that a reserve is a savings mechanism, not a commitment to specific projects.

Board members pressed McPhillips on the timing and practical effects of the IDA decision. “The 8.6 drops immediately because of the pilot rolling on,” he said, but he cautioned that the district still faces choices to get from the roughly 2.8% draft levy down to the 1.1% that the tax-cap calculation would allow without an override. He said he would refine the numbers and consult state officials before next week’s meeting.

Votes at a glance: The board approved routine action items during the meeting by voice vote. These included approval of minutes and a set of finance and personnel action items; the motions carried by voice vote with no roll-call tallies recorded in the transcript.

Context and next steps: McPhillips said the presentation was an initial step and that next meetings will include athletics, instructional programs, food service and more detailed budget decisions. He provided a tentative schedule: further budget presentations on March 5 and March 19, a possible adoption window in early April, and the public hearing and budget vote in May. He told the board, “We’ll have a more secure number next week,” and flagged the IDA’s late decision as a timing complication for normal budget processing.","District business staff presented a preliminary $117.5 million spending plan and said a late extension of a major PILOT will reduce but not eliminate a multi-million-dollar gap that still points toward a likely tax levy rise next year.","actionData","errors"]

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Board hears options for bus proposition as district weighs EV grants, operational limits

Bethlehem budget preview: pilot extension cuts planned tax increase but leaves gap to close