EPA Selects La Grande school district for $2,020,000 in electric school bus rebate funds
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, May 30th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – The EPA recently announced that the La Grande School district has been selected for a $2,020,000 rebate to purchase ten new electric school buses as part of the organization’s Clean School Bus Program rebate contest. This is part of a larger nationwide effort, initially announced last September, to replace older diesel buses in selected districts.
Within Oregon, ten school districts were recently selected (including La Grande), totaling $22.6 million dollars in rebates meant to replace 96 buses. According to the EPA, $500 million dollars were initially announced for the rebate program across the country, with this amount being increase to nearly $1 billion dollars as of February 2024. Funds will be allocated to school districts in 47 states, alongside various federally recognized tribes. In the announcement for the Oregon rebate, the EPA wrote the following regarding the purpose of the program:
“The Program will help Oregon accelerate the transition to zero emission vehicles and to replace older diesel school buses, which have been linked to asthma and other conditions that harm the health of students and surrounding communities.”
Elkhorn Media group has reached out to the La Grande School District for additional information on the funds and how they may impact La Grande’s school bus service.
