Lawmakers weigh in after electric school bus forum

ALBANY | On March 27, Sen. Dan Stec (R,C-Queensbury) joined Assemblymembers Carrie Woerner (D-Round Lake) and Matt Simpson (R,C-Adirondack) at a forum with Queensbury, Lake George and several other regional school districts to discuss the electric bus mandate for schools. This forum included providing legislators with access to both electric buses and discussing the realities and difficulties in procuring and maintaining these vehicles and building out the necessary infrastructure. "The meeting we had today with our area's school districts provided firsthand accounts of why one-size-fits-all mandates do not work," said Stec. "School officials broke down the significant cost barriers in operating electric buses, and it became clear that the further north you travel, the less practical using an EV bus becomes. On top of the initial high purchase point for an EV bus, it became apparent that the necessary lead-in time to develop the infrastructure to charge and maintain these vehicles is several years and extremely costly. This discussion today furthered my belief that the EV bus mandate needs to be replaced with policies that reflect the needs, budgets and geography of our school districts." "I appreciate the opportunity to see the results that Queensbury and Lake George school districts have had in piloting EV school buses," said Woerner. "Now that there are districts with experience with the buses, we can have an evidence-based, data-driven policy conversation about whether a mandated transition to battery-electric buses makes sense for all districts," said Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner. "I have introduced A.6760 to modify the requirement to transition to focus on districts where a majority of the routes can be serviced by EV buses, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Today's presentation provided a helpful analysis of all of the aspects of transitioning to these buses and where the challenges lie. I will bring this back to my colleagues in the Assembly and urge that we take steps to modify or eliminate the requirement to transition to EV buses beginning next year." "The work and data collection conducted by school officials responsible for implementing the State's looming EV bus mandates is insightful, appreciated, and deeply concerning," said Simpson. "Much of what we learned today reflects the very concerns expressed by many in the lead-up to passage of the EV bus mandate, and the time elapsed since. "Amid ongoing state budget negotiations where school districts throughout the north country and across the state are raising the alarm about program shortfalls and teacher cuts, it is beyond comprehension that the State continues to insist on schools being forced to spend valuable resources to meet electrification mandates over prioritizing those limited resources on better education outcomes for our students," he continued. "It is my hope that this information reinforces the growing call for a full repeal of this mandate and return our focus on how we can best deliver a quality education for our children."

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Lawmakers weigh in after electric school bus forum

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