Thank you, Bigfork Public Schools, for being a pioneering district forging a new future for our children by transitioning to one of Montana’s first electric school buses. I was delighted to hear the news that they are participating in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program. There’s a lot of places I don’t like my tax dollars being spent, but this is not one of them!
Encouraging our school districts to be early adopters of technology seems totally appropriate as this is where curiosity, innovation, and critical thinking are most-needed to solve the world’s biggest issues, including the climate crisis these kids have inherited.
Bigfork School District will be leading the way in taking dirty diesel buses off the roads and replacing them with zero-tailpipe-emission buses that are quieter, cleaner, and better for our children’s health and our environment. Because electric school buses have fewer parts and run on electricity – whose price is much more stable than volatile fossil fuels – electric school buses are also expected to save schools thousands of dollars a year on operations and maintenance.
It’s an exciting time for our state to receive this funding for clean transportation. But we can’t stop here. We can and must accelerate this transition to a clean ride for kids and their future.
Sara Busse
Kalispell