SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. – Sumter County is one of the school districts across the U.S. receiving funding for zero- and low-emission, electric buses as part of the federal government’s EPA Clean School Bus Program initiative.
Sumter District Schools applied for the program, which focuses on providing funding to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions and produce cleaner air for students, bus drivers, and school staff” in low-income, rural and Tribal communities, and is being awarded $1,185,000 to replace three diesel-powered school buses for cleaner, electric-powered ones.
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The Environmental Protection Agency is issuing about $965 million to fund 2,500 school bus replacements for the 2022 rebate program alone, which is part of a larger project that intends to invest $5 billion in zero- and low-emission school buses across the country over the next five years.
The Central Florida school district was selected from a pool of around 2,000 applications coming from all 50 states and U.S. territories, EPA officials said.
According to the EPA, this marks the first round of funding being distributed as part of the 5-year Clean School Bus Program.
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