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Onteora is one of many school districts facing hurdles in complying with the state mandate that all school buses be electric-powered by 2035.
“Unfortunately, I feel like we are flying the plane and building it at the same time. We still have no guidance from state ed,” assistant superintendent for business Monica LaClair complained at the July 6 Onteora School Board meeting. “I have additional questions into the EPA as far as the clean-bus program. The biggest concern that I think we have as administrators is we were given this grant for $8 million for 21 electric buses and some infrastructure, only to kind of be told that it’s possible that it may cost us more than $8 million.”
LaClair said she doesn’t feel comfortable giving the main district transportation provider First Student or any other vendor a purchase order for 21 electric buses if she doesn’t know what the district’s out-of-pocket cost is going to be. Purchase orders need to go out in a month.
“But as I mentioned, I would not put the district in any sort of financial bind if that’s what ends up happening. Our hope is that we may get another extension,” LaClair said. “This is our second extension so far, because again, we have no guidance. And it’s a little disconcerting to try to build something without knowing whether or not the state is even going to approve it because they haven’t given us any guidance.”
The buses will likely be owned by Onteora and operated by First Student, which is consulting with the district. The transportation company is in the process of examining all the routes to determine the battery capacity needed for each bus. Hilly and mountainous terrain has posed challenges.
Also still up in the air is where the charging infrastructure will be built. The routes need to be optimized to make sure the buses remain adequately charged.
At this point, there are still more questions than answers.
In other business, incumbent Onteora trustee Cindy Bishop was appointed board president and incumbent trustee Valerie Storey was appointed vice-president last week. Bishop had previously been vice-president.
It was trustee-elect Caroline Jerome’s first meeting. She was a write-in candidate elected May 16 as part of a slate of three candidates endorsed by Onteora Parents Engaged Now, or OPEN, a group opposed to the district’s restructuring plan that will close Phoenicia beginning with the coming school year and ultimately also close Woodstock 2028 with voter approval. The Bennett School in Boiceville will then serve as the sole elementary school in the district.
The other two OPEN candidates, Clark Goodrich and Emily Mitchell-Marell, were seated in May to fill unexpired terms. Goodrich has stated his support for the district’s closure plan.
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