Rondout Valley board hears $10 million federal grant plan to buy electric buses, staff urges acceptance to avoid tax burden

At its June 10, 2025 meeting, the Rondout Valley Central School District presented a plan to use a $10,000,000 federal Clean School Bus Program grant to offset upfront capital costs for electric school buses and associated infrastructure.

Dr. Spadaro, identified in the meeting as the superintendent, told the board the New York state mandate requires new bus purchases to be zero-emission by 2027 and the entire fleet to be zero-emission by 2035. She said the district's recommendation is to accept the federal funding to comply with the mandate rather than shift the cost to local taxpayers.

The presentation noted the grant would cover purchase and infrastructure costs and gave program-level numbers discussed in the meeting: the award was described as $10,000,000 and staff said that with that funding they "get 25 Eaton buses" while planning to keep a subset of diesel buses on campus. Dr. Spadaro said, "This prevents any kind of burden on the local taxpayers" when explaining the rationale for using the federal money.

Board members and staff raised permitting, lot capacity and charging logistics. Staff said that if the project can be limited to 20 electric buses on the district lot, the project might avoid town planning-board review and instead be handled by the building department; the district would still coordinate with the fire department on safety and charging protocols. The presenter said some facility upgrades (lighting, signage, radios) were included in the project scope.

Several board members asked whether the fleet would be fully electric immediately; the presenter replied that EV buses are planned primarily for local routes while diesel buses would continue to be operated for other uses during the transition. A board member asked about a contract clause reportedly stating bus ownership reverts to First Student after five years; the presenter said First Student "have no intention of pulling the buses" and that the company committed the buses will remain serving the district as long as the district contracts with First Student.

The board asked staff to continue coordinating next steps with the town planning board and the fire department and to refine siting and charging plans so the district can move forward with procurement while minimizing permitting delays.

What happens next: staff will pursue the grant-funded procurement path, continue permitting discussions with town officials, and develop a campus charging plan before final purchase commitments.

Provenance: topicintro: SEG 148; topfinish: SEG 276