{"id":58797,"date":"2020-02-28T05:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/federal-settlement-nets-schools-a-new-bus\/"},"modified":"2020-02-28T05:30:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T14:30:00","slug":"federal-settlement-nets-schools-a-new-bus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/federal-settlement-nets-schools-a-new-bus\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal settlement nets schools a new bus"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new school bus is coming to Juneau as the result of a multibillion-dollar international scandal.<\/p>\n

The Juneau School District will be one of eight districts to benefit from $4.4 million to replace 33 diesel school buses with new clean-burning buses under the Volkswagen Settlement School Bus Replacement Program, said Alaska Energy Authority in a news release Tuesday. The Alaska Energy Authority is a public corporation of the state tasked with reducing the cost of energy in Alaska.<\/p>\n

Alaska received nearly $8.13 million as a result of Volkswagen’s federal settlement, according to AEA<\/a>, and 60% of that is being disbursed for school bus replacements.<\/p>\n

Juneau School District does not own its buses. Instead, it contracts with First Student. AEA preliminary design and environmental manager Betsy McGregor said in a phone interview it was First Student that applied for the grant.<\/p>\n

[Juneau’s electric vehicle total continues to surge<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n

“The Juneau School District appreciates First Student’s efforts in applying for the school bus replacement program,” said Juneau School District chief of staff Kristin Bartlett in an email. “It is a positive step toward improving air quality in our community and around our school buildings.”<\/p>\n

Kevin Hansen, manager for First Student, said in a phone interview that while he does not know much about the grant application — that, he said, was handled by a corporate office in the Lower 48 — there is a 15-year-old bus scheduled to be replaced soon.<\/p>\n

Hansen said the bus does not contain any Volkswagen parts, but a newer bus will definitely have less impactful emissions.<\/p>\n

“I know that we do have a unit that is due to be replaced this year,” Hansen said, “and it will be replaced this summer.”<\/p>\n

First Student applied for one bus in Juneau, one in Kodiak Island Borough and four in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, McGregor said.<\/p>\n

Additional beneficiaries of the grants include Alaska Gateway School District, Anchorage School District, Kenai School District and Southeast Island School District, according to AEA.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n