Seward schools receives funding for new bus

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The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy Director Jim Macy announced Aug. 28 that the state is awarding approximately $2 million in rebates to schools across Nebraska to aid in the replacement of older diesel school buses.

The funded projects include 45 public school districts and one bus contractor serving a public school district.  Each project will replace one older diesel bus with a new bus with much lower emissions. The School District of Seward was allocated $42,000 for a vehicle with a diesel engine.

“The department received a large number of applications from schools across the state,” Macy said. “The funds available for this program give us the opportunity to provide financial assistance to schools that will help reduce harmful diesel emissions.

“We received more applications than we had funds for, so our staff will continue to explore other avenues of funding the program as it is effective in reducing our children’s exposure to potentially harmful emissions.”

This is the third round of school bus replacement rebates that the department has funded through the VW State Trust. During this three-year period, about $6.37 million has been awarded to replace 147 diesel school buses, reducing harmful NOx emissions by more than 34 tons.