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$790,000 Awarded to Alcona Schools for New Electric Buses

Two local school districts are on the winning side of competitive awards handed out to an additional 23 districts across the state for the 2022 Clean School Bus Rebates.

Alcona and Au Gres–Sims were two of the districts chosen, and are on the receiving end of just under $1.2 million for three buses. Alcona will buy two of the three new electric buses from the rebates. The hope of this program for Michigan schools is to have clean, safe, eco-friendly buses, while also creating jobs, lowering costs, and reducing pollution from the diesel buses.

The questions for schools like Alcona is, is it going to be cost effective to have electric buses. “Mr. Kunfeld had been actively researching electric buses and really trying to ensure that you know if this was a viable option for us,” said Dan O’Connor, superintendent of Alcona Schools. “Obviously, the grant award for almost $800,000 is a nice step to evaluate essentially whether or not this is something that you know works for us long–term.”

To prepare for the new buses, the Alcona School District had their mechanic learn how to service the new electric buses ahead of time for cost effectiveness.