Jackson Public Schools accepts $4.9 million EPA grant to support bus replacement project

The Jackson Public School District board voted to accept a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant of "over $4,900,000" to support a district bus replacement project.

The EPA award and associated terms were presented by grant manager David Shomer, who said the district has linked its banking data in the federal ASAP payment portal and reviewed the grant’s terms and conditions. Shomer told the board the ASAP banking data was connected the day before the meeting and that the office had worked with EPA technical support to resolve earlier complications.

Board members asked whether reimbursements submitted through ASAP will arrive on the district’s usual timetable; a representative from fiscal services said requests typically clear within a few days if expenditures are in order. Members also asked whether an April 3 amendment in the grant’s terms required additional district commitments. Administrators said the nondiscrimination policy updates discussed earlier in the meeting were related to the grant’s compliance requirements.

The board approved acceptance of the EPA grant by voice vote. No fiscal or implementation conditions beyond those in the grant documents were recorded during the motion discussion.

Board members and staff said the funds will be used to support bus replacement and that the administration had addressed initial technical and banking concerns with ASAP so reimbursement requests can proceed.

The board did not adopt additional, separate spending motions at the time of the grant acceptance; related procurement and implementation steps were described as part of the district’s grant-management process.

Provenance: David Shomer presented the grant award and answered board questions; the board then moved and approved acceptance.