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Wrenshall board accepts $35,000 EPA propane‑bus award and authorizes lease‑purchase plan
Summary
The Wrenshall Public School District board accepted an EPA propane‑bus rebate and approved pursuing a lease‑purchase agreement for a new propane bus, adding the item to the district’s transportation plan. Alice Kloepfer moved the acceptance and the motion carried unanimously.
The Wrenshall Board of Education voted Aug. 12 to accept an EPA Clean School Bus propane‑bus award and to proceed with a lease‑purchase agreement for a new propane school bus. The motion to accept the EPA grant was made by Director Alice Kloepfer and seconded by Director Eric Ankrum; the board recorded the motion as carried on a unanimous voice vote.
The board packet included the Clean School Bus rebate guidance and a draft Blue Bird memorandum of understanding describing next steps for a propane‑bus purchase and the application and payment request procedures under the EPA rebate program. The board’s action formally added the grant and lease‑purchase plan to the district’s 2024 transportation planning.
The motion appears in the meeting minutes as “Motion to accept to the EPA grant and proceed with a lease to purchase agreement for a new propane bus,” moved by Alice Kloepfer and seconded by Eric Ankrum; recorded votes on related July agenda items show consensus to pursue the EPA funds and arrange a lease payment schedule beginning November 2024. Superintendent Jeff Pesta provided MOU materials and program guidance in the packet for board review.
Board members said the award would allow the district to accelerate cleaner‑fuel options for student transport while spreading costs through a lease arrangement. The board did not vote to select a bus vendor at the meeting; board members noted additional procurement steps will be required to complete purchase and delivery. The EPA Clean School Bus materials in the packet explain that selectees submit purchase orders, payment request forms, documentation of scrappage of replaced buses, and close‑out forms as part of reimbursement and compliance steps.
Next steps: staff will work with the district’s transportation coordinator and the Blue Bird Grants team (materials provided in the packet) to draft the purchase and lease documents and report back to the board with specific vendor and financing terms before final contract approval.
