John Craig, BISD’s Director of Transportation, secured alternative funding that will offset the cost for 25 buses,19 standard buses and 6 special needs buses, that were approved as part of the BISD 2019 Bond Program. The Board of Trustees approved a $2.47 million dollar contract for the first 25 replacement buses. Mr. Craig successfully wrote and submitted two grants that will help replace outdated bus fleets with buses that are cleaner for the environment, safer for our students, and more comfortable to ride, a cost savings to the District and ultimately, for our taxpayers.
As part of a settlement agreement with Volkswagen, funds were set aside for a nationwide Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Investment Plan. These funds were then made available to Texas from the trust Texas Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Program (TxVEMP) for projects that reduce oxides of nitrogen, especially as atmospheric pollutants. Governor Abbott designated the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) as the Lead Agency for Texas to administer the grant program.
Mr. Craig completed the five-step process to seek funding from the TxVEMP to replace and repower BISD’s current bus fleet. Through his diligence, BISD was awarded $1.2 million from the TxVEMP grant program that will cover the cost of 19 new buses, saving the allocated bond funds. BISD will remove older, high emission, less efficient, 15-plus years old buses and replace them with a fleet of state-of-the-art, cost-effective multi-passenger vehicles.
The second grant, in the amount of $80,000, was also secured by Mr. Craig from the Houston Galveston Area Council (HGAC) Emission Reduction Incentive. These funds will be used to help cover most of the cost of one special needs bus, to increase BISD’s ability to serve more students.
“We commend Mr. Craig for pursuing alternate funding sources that ultimately save taxpayer dollars.” Superintendent Danny Massey stated. “Securing the TxVEMP grant and the HGAC Emission Reduction Incentive are examples of how BISD staff continues to work on behalf of our taxpayers.”
In addition to these 20 buses being cleaner for the environment, all of BISD’s new buses will be equipped with air conditioning, as well as 3 point seat belts. “The first five buses should be arriving in the next 45 days, with the other buses due in before the start of the next school year,” said Craig.
BISD thanks John Craig, Director of Transportation, for going the Extra Mile for our students, staff and community.
