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Biddeford Public Schools notified of federal award for five electric buses; gap in funding remains
Summary
The district received notice of a federal award for five electric school buses at $200,000 each; administrators said additional incentives and state bus-replacement funding may close a remaining cost gap and warned vehicles may not arrive for several years.
Administrators told the school committee that Biddeford Public Schools received official notification that it was awarded five electric buses funded at $200,000 each through the federal clean-bus program, and they described outstanding questions about total cost and charging infrastructure.
"We were awarded five buses at $200,000 a piece," Jeremy said, while noting there remains a gap between the award amount and the total bus cost. He described efforts to combine stacked rebates, tax credits and the district's regular state bus-replacement application so the buses could be “zero cost” to the district. The administration cautioned that additional infrastructure and potential grid impacts remain to be assessed.
Administrators described why electric buses may suit the district’s routes: many local runs are short (some under 40 miles per day) and typical routes would require limited recharging (possibly once or twice per week). However, board members and staff warned the procurement timeline can be long: one example noted buses ordered earlier had not yet been delivered and the district should not expect immediate deployment.
No formal vote was required; the committee received the notification as information and asked staff to continue analysis of total costs, stacking incentives and infrastructure needs.
