Federal grants bring more than 100 electric school buses to Georgia districts

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Congresswoman Nikema Williams is joined by local leaders May 2, 2023 at Paul L. Dunbar Elementary to announce Atlanta Public Schools will have 25 electric school buses thanks to federal funding.

Credit: Amanda Andrews / GPB News

The Atlanta Public School system will soon have its own fleet of electric school buses, thanks to federal funding. The district received $9.9 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for 25 electric buses.

The school district is one of 15 in the state and 389 nationwide selected to receive funding.

U.S. Congresswoman Nikema Williams represents the area and attended an announcement at Paul L. Dunbar Elementary School. She highlighted the benefits clean energy will have on her constituents.

“Lower asthma rates, which is real life savings,” Williams said. “Lower costs for taxpayers. More jobs for our booming clean energy economy. More protections for the vulnerable communities like the Black and brown communities that are already disproportionately impacted by transportation related pollution.”

Other speakers included APS Super intendent Lisa Herring, Dunbar Elementary School Principal Ernest Sessoms, jr., Jessica Mengistab with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and Cary Ritzler from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Megistab said as a nurse she knows how important high air quality is for children.

“Developing lungs of children are particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of ozone in all other forms of air pollution,” she said. “When kids’ asthma is not well controlled, they miss more school, making it harder for them to succeed and reach their full potential.”

In the 2023 state of the air report by the American Lung Association, Fulton and DeKalb County each received a D grade for ozone. Metro Atlanta was ranked 47th worst for high ozone days out of 227 metropolitan areas nationwide.

Buses are expected to be up and running by the beginning of the 2024 school year.