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Concord committee approves charger funding, awards contract for electric school bus infrastructure
Summary
The finance committee recommended multiple motions to secure funding and contracts for electric school bus chargers at the Conant Operations Maintenance Facility, including appropriating insurance proceeds, recommending a larger appropriation up to $240,000 for infrastructure, and awarding a contractor up to $200,000.
The Concord School District finance committee recommended several actions to prepare for three new electric school buses, including appropriating insurance proceeds for chargers, recommending an up‑to $240,000 appropriation for installation and infrastructure, and awarding a contract to install chargers.
The actions are intended to put necessary infrastructure in place this summer so the district can accept and operate electric buses when they arrive. The committee approved recommending that the Board of Education transfer $59,576 into the school building maintenance fund for chargers — insurance proceeds from a totaled bus — and then transfer up to that amount from the school building maintenance fund to the general fund to pay for chargers in fiscal 2026. The committee also recommended the board appropriate up to $240,000 from the school building maintenance fund to fund purchase and installation of chargers and to work with the city on any necessary changes to the district's 10‑year lease for space at the Conant Operations Maintenance Facility. The committee further recommended awarding a contract to Longchamps Electric for up to $200,000 to install the chargers; the motions passed in committee.
Business administrator Jack told the committee the administration favors completing underground work this summer so the district does not have to delay bus use until the following summer. "We don't have to have it all hooked up. We just wanna have everything done because we can't... impact the operations up there for leaf collection, snow plowing, buses. So the summer is the ideal part," he said. Jack said chargers and infrastructure must support software updates, usage monitoring and, ideally, remote downloading of onboard bus audio/video rather than removing hard drives.
Committee discussion covered internet connectivity to chargers — whether to hardwire or use a wireless gateway — and the suitability of vendors. Jack said he had sought information from TELUS and intends to visit districts in South Burlington, Vermont and Biddeford, Maine that operate electric buses with the district's bus vendor, Brian Cressi of Cressi. He reported an EV‑gateway quote of $44,900 for two units and said gateways carry modest annual fees. He also said the administration plans to spec infrastructure to accommodate up to five chargers and that chargers are agnostic to the Thomas bus brand the district is buying.
Timeline and costs discussed in committee: a roughly 120‑day lead time for major electrical equipment and an expectation that chargers could be installed in September–October, with buses arriving in December–January; the administration asked for an "up to" appropriation of $240,000 to cover contingencies including Internet and related elements.
The motions recommending the appropriations and the contract award will go to the full Board of Education for consideration on June 25.
