FARMINGTON — The Regional School Unit 9 board of directors voted on Tuesday, Jan. 23, not to pursue the 2023 Clean School Bus Rebate program, which would provide a rebate towards electric school buses for every diesel bus that meets the criteria of the program.

The topic of the rebate program first arose last month when Superintendent Christian Elkington presented his own personal findings when doing research on RSU 9’s eligibility in the EPA program, which is investing $5 billion over five years to replace existing school buses with zero-emission and low-emission models.

At that meeting, Elkington stated that infrastructure would be the biggest investment. With the grant application deadline set for Wednesday, Jan. 31, Elkington expressed his reluctance to move forward with an application without an in-depth discussion amongst the board and other interested parties.

RSU 9 Director of Transportation Richard Joseph Jr. shared this sentiment at the same meeting, stating, “I’m still not 100% sure if that’s the way to go or not.” He added that he would investigate the matter further.

Elkington and Joseph presented their findings at the most recent meeting, sharing with the board they would have three buses eligible for the rebate program. The criteria for diesel-powered school buses that qualify for the rebate program include:

• 2010 or older.

• Gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 lbs. or more.

• Fully operational at the time the application is submitted.

• Providing service for at least three days a week on average during the 2022/2023 school year at the time of applying.

At the previous meeting, Joseph shared that RSU 9 was not prioritized in the grant funding, so an application would not yield the full amount as a result. For each bus, RSU 9 would receive up to approximately $200,000, amounting to $600,000 in rebates for all three buses.

By contrast, schools that meet the prioritization criteria could receive up to $345,000 in rebates. Joseph added at the previous meeting that RSU 9 was not prioritized due to heavy investment in propane buses.

Along with this information, Joseph also shared the potential savings and infrastructure costs in his report.

In switching from diesel to electric, RSU 9 would cut out maintenance costs for oil changes, transmission fluid, fuel filters, air filters and DEF fluid. On top of that, the projected cost of fuel per year would fall from $6,000 for diesel to $2,520 for electric.

Joseph presented multiple options for school buses and the infrastructure on standard charging stations, with his recommendation being the Blue Bird Vision Electric, which can run for 130 miles on one charge, paired with the level 3 DC Fast Charging option, which can charge two electric school buses in roughly three to four hours.

“I felt that we needed to do the three hours for the turnaround and that’s if we don’t have an early release or bad weather or something like that,” Joseph stated. “I was trying to go with a bigger battery [and the] faster charger.”

Joseph broke down the cost for three electric school buses, with two fast charging stations and installation, at $1,271,366. With the rebate at $600,000, the district would theoretically invest $671,366 into the program.

Joseph also added in his report that his estimate doesn’t include extra costs, such as training for mechanics, additional charging stations in the shop, insurance, warranty work with EV certified mechanics in Portland, and a generator.

“The district would have to come up with $671,000 and my recommendation would be not to do this,” Elkington told the board. “It’s just too cost prohibitive at this time, especially when we’re looking at this future budget.”

Elkington did say they would monitor the cost and if any changes were to occur, they would revisit the prospect in the future. The board voted against the rebate program, with Director Janice David of Farmington voting in favor of the rebate.

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