Electric vehicle advocates urge “No” vote on Croton schools Proposition #2. District officials counter that EV purchases remain on track to meet state requirements.
Proposition #2 would authorize the district to purchase one large electric school bus and three smaller gas/diesel vehicles. Lack of charging capacity remains a big issue.
On Tuesday, May 21, eligible voters will have the opportunity to participate in the Croton-Harmon school district election, which features two incumbent candidates running unopposed for re-election and four budgetary propositions. Complete information on the election can be found here, and a sample ballot can be found here.
We recently covered an online forum with the two candidates, Omar Mayyasi and Ana Teague, in which they expressed their views on a number of topics. (Note that voters can also write in candidates of their choice, and space is provided on the ballot to do so.)
Propositions 1, 3, and 4, which cover the overall school budget, a Repair Reserve Fund, and funds for the Croton Free Library, have not generated much community discussion and are not likely to be controversial, despite the burden that school taxes pose for many members of our community.
But Proposition #2, which would allot funds to purchase one large electric school bus and three smaller gas/diesel buses, has run into opposition from electric bus advocates, including some who served on the Bus Electrification Task Force a few years ago.
The debate over electrification of school bus fleets and the pace at which they can and should be carried out is complex, and we plan to publish a more comprehensive report later this year. However, school districts in New York state are facing some pretty tough laws already on the books, including a dictate that all school buses must be zero emissions by 2035. And some EV advocates argue that the district’s vehicle replacement plan is way behind schedule in reaching that goal (see graphic above.)
First, here is the text of Proposition #2:
Leading the charge against Proposition #2 is the local activist group Croton100, which has played a major role in the push to electrify the fleet, beginning several years ago. The mission statement of Croton100:
“Croton100 is an all-volunteer community-based organization that seeks to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in Croton-on-Hudson, NY (zip code 10520), to net zero by 2040, or 5% reduction per year, through a combination of advocacy, education and campaigns.”
We asked Croton100 representatives for their position on Proposition #2, and they provided us with the following statement (which is now also on their Web site):
“To meet our vision for climate leadership in Croton, to stave off the worst impacts of climate change and fulfill our hope that Croton’s youth enjoy the benefits of a fully electric fleet as soon as possible, having considered the financial circumstances and the failure of this proposition to meet these goals, regrettably Croton100 must oppose the transportation proposition and urges a “no” vote, as it has done in the past for the same reasons. The purchase of three fossil fuel buses, and just one electric bus is an insufficient decarbonization pace for the school’s fleet of 45 buses… The basic science is abundantly clear: we must rapidly reduce GHG emissions if we are to stave off the worst impacts of global warming, which will bring wide-spread societal chaos, most severely borne by young people and the most vulnerable. Additionally, this bus proposition does not reflect the potential financial subsidies for the e-bus on the ballot, nor the financial benefits for accelerating e-bus purchases.”
We also reached out to the school district for its position, and received the following brief statement from Denise Harrington-Cohen, the district’s Assistant Superintendent for Business, who has been intimately involved in the electrification decisions:
"We remain committed to our long-term goal of electrifying our fleet while balancing the practical limitations of our infrastructure. This vehicle proposition aligns with our phased approach towards achieving our environmental objectives."
In a lengthy interview earlier this year about the myriad of issues surrounding electrification, Harrington-Cohen, along with Superintendent Stephen Walker, discussed infrastructure issues such as the limitations in EV charging capacity at the school bus depot. These limitations, which will have to be addressed before the district can accommodate a large fleet of EVs, have reportedly caused problems for the district’s transportation department, including difficulties keeping electric buses fully charged during cold weather.
Will voters follow the recommendations of the school district, or of the EV activists?
We will update this story later in the week.
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