Board hears update on electric buses; operational certificate needed before payments
Erie School District Board of Directors (Committee of the Whole / Regular Session) · December 11, 2025
Summary
District staff told the board several buses have corrected charging ports and driver/mechanic training is scheduled; a district official said contract payments should not begin until Highlands issues an operational certificate declaring chargers and vehicles operational.
Board members pressed staff on the status of electric buses and charging infrastructure at the Dec. 10 meeting after earlier reports that some buses were delivered with incorrect charging configurations.
Mister Nichols asked whether the district was making lease payments while buses remained out of service. District staff responded that three buses had returned with corrected charging ports and Highland Fleets would conduct driver and mechanic training the following day. "At the conclusion of tomorrow, we're gonna start putting them in operation," a staff member said.
Mister Walker, responding to questions about contract payment triggers, said the agreement with Highlands specifies the contract term does not begin until an operational certificate is issued confirming that vehicles and chargers are installed and operational and necessary approvals obtained. "I do not believe that we have yet received the operational certificate from Highlands, so we should not be making any payments," he said.
Transportation staff told the board vehicles are arriving in rolling batches and training and repairs are expected to accelerate deployment over the coming weeks; staff said some buses could be placed in service before the winter break.
Board members asked staff to confirm the contract terms and the payment schedule; staff committed to checking contractual terms and to update the board.
