WALCZYK CALLS ON GOVERNOR TO REPEAL OR FULLY FUND COSTLY ELECTRIC BUS MANDATES FOR SCHOOLS

State Senator Mark Walczyk recently joined his colleagues by calling on Governor Hochul to cover the costs school districts face to convert their bus fleets to all-electric, or to scrap the mandates all together.

As part of the ’22-’23 State Budget (which Walczyk voted against), language was included that requires new bus purchases be zero emission by 2027 for all schools across the state and all school buses be zero emission by 2035. According to the US Department of Energy, a new, fully electric school bus can cost roughly $400,000, which is triple the price of an average school bus, which is approximately $130,000.

Walczyk knows that schools across the 49th Senate District will have a difficult time footing the bill for this mandate. NYSERDA estimates show that there’s 45,000 school buses in New York, which translates to a $20 billion price tag for converting every bus in every school district across the state by the 2035 deadline.

“School leaders I'm talking to are concerned about making up for the education gap shutdowns left behind, enrollment decline, quality instruction, and educating the next generation of leaders and employees," Walczyk said. "Nobody wants battery-buses. Nobody asked for battery-buses. Nobody thinks the Governor's battery-bus plan is based in reality."