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After extensive review, Plum Borough SD declines electric-bus purchase; board votes to cancel contract
Summary
Following site visits, cost estimates and conversations with other districts and operators, district staff recommended not to move forward with an electric school-bus purchase or lease; the board voted 5-0 to cancel the contract and not proceed at this time.
Plum Borough School District officials told the board Feb. 11 that, after a multi-month review of electric school-bus options, the district will not proceed with the purchase or lease of electric buses and will cancel the pending contract.
Staff described a multi-step due-diligence process that included a needs assessment, federal funding research, site visits to other districts and transportation operators, and analysis of the costs to bring electrical service to the bus garage. District officials told the board an estimate to run the necessary power to the bus garage was approximately $2.2 million; staff also reported concerns about battery and long-term maintenance costs and operational reliability, including a reported example where 30% of an electric fleet was in maintenance at one operator visited.
Doctor Boyers summarized the work and said the district had identified 25 buses that would have qualified for consideration. Chief financial officer Mr. Manzer said the financial structure would have exposed the district to material risk, either through a large upfront investment (running power to the garage) or ongoing costs associated with leases and specialized staffing. “Typically even in our investments, we operate at near-zero risk,” he said, and recommended not to proceed.
District staff also reported operational concerns: limited midday turnaround time between morning and afternoon routes could leave insufficient time to recharge batteries for buses assigned to both runs, and some operators used diesel buses as back-up for electric fleets — undermining some projected savings. Board members thanked staff for a thorough review and affirmed the recommendation. The board indicated a 5-0 vote to cancel the contract and not proceed with the electric-bus plan at this time.
Staff said they will communicate the decision to the vendor and continue to monitor funding and technology developments that may change the district’s assessment in the future.
