Winthrop gets grant for four electric school buses

AUGUSTA – Winthrop Public Schools will get a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency Clean School Bus Program rebate competition, which awarded $13,340,000 to 13 Maine school districts.
Winthrop Public Schools was awarded $1,580,000 to buy four electric school buses to help accelerate the transition to zero emissions vehicles and produce cleaner air in and around schools and communities. Overall, Maine schools will buy 34 clean buses with the money.
“From Baileyville to Wells, these 34 electric buses funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help towns cut costs, reduce emissions, and protect the health of their students,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Sen. Angus King, I-Maine; Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st Disrict; Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine 2nd District, in a joint statement. “This is a significant investment in the future of our state and our students that demonstrates the immediate positive impacts of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law across Maine.”
The 2022 Clean School Bus Rebates prioritize low-income, rural, and Tribal communities. The vast majority of applicants met the priority definition under the 2022 Clean School Bus Rebates criteria.
Other school districts to get the grants are Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Consolidated School District,; Southwest Harbor Public Schools, Blue Hill, Castine Public Schools; Calais, Pleasant Point; Baileyville, Waite Public Schools; Bingham, RSU 83/MSAD 13; Searsport, RSU 20; Baileyville, East Range CSD; Dayton Public Schools; Waterboro RSU 57/MSAD 57; Wells-Ogunquit CSD; Somerville, RSU 12.