High‑school students urge District 25 to explore electric school buses, citing lower operating costs and federal grants

Members of the Pocatello High School Earth Club presented a proposal asking District 25 trustees to consider electric school buses for future fleet purchases and to pursue federal planning and procurement grants.

The students said electric buses have higher initial purchase prices but far lower operating costs. “A diesel bus costs around 50¢ per mile just to run the vehicle, but electric buses only cost about 8¢ per mile,” a student presenter said, and another noted approximate purchase prices of about $400,000 per electric bus versus about $200,000 for diesel. The students described related infrastructure needs — chargers, power hookups, transformers and heated storage to protect batteries — and recommended planning for mechanic and driver training.

School trustees and audience members questioned delivery timelines and battery thermal management. A board member asked whether other Idaho districts had already taken delivery of buses; the students replied that McCall had used EPA program funding to obtain 10 buses and receive about $4,000,000 in grant support. Students also named the Clean School Bus Planning Grant, the FTA low‑ and no‑emission grants, and the EPA Clean School Bus Program as possible funding sources.

Student presenters stressed that they were not asking trustees to buy buses immediately but to consider applying for planning grants and studying long‑term feasibility. “Even if like, we don't expect you to buy buses tomorrow, but we just want you to consider the possibility of electric buses for the future,” one student said.

Trustees asked technical questions about battery life and replacement costs. The students and one trustee discussed that batteries can be replaced and that EV buses may require less day‑to‑day mechanical maintenance because they have fewer moving parts than diesel buses. On thermal management, the students said they had not found detailed technical data and offered to follow up with district staff after the meeting.

Next steps: trustees did not vote on any motion. The board accepted the presentation and indicated staff and trustees would review the planning‑grant option and follow up with additional information.