May 30—An electric school bus could help power Science Hill’s fleet into the future — or it could bring an unwelcome sticker shock.

Science Hill School, the single-facility district in northern Pulaski County, has been approved for funds to purchase a new electric-powered bus for student transportation.

The application was submitted to the United State EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) 2023 Clean School Bus Rebate Program, which is purposed for helping schools replace existing buses with ones that are zero emission and/or “clean.” The total rebate amount requested by Science Hill was $345,000.

What’s uncertain right now is whether or not the Science Hill School board wants to go through with the deal, because according to Superintendent Jimmy Dyehouse, there are caveats in play.

For one, it’s required that the district completely destroy one of the existing buses, noted Dyehouse, such that it can’t be sold off. The electric bus would replace it.

Right now, the fleet has three route buses, and there is an older one available that was going to be sold but could instead be used to acquire the electric bus, which is guaranteed for eight years.

Another need is the installation of a charging station, which could cost the district up to $50,000, said Dyehouse. That would mean additional funds are needed, he said.

“Then what you do is, you turn around and write another (grant application) that gets you reimbursed for that, 12 months down the road,” he said, “but that’s a lot of money for our little district to come up with just right off the bat like that.”

Dyehouse expects to receive a price list soon to outline exactly how much money the district will be responsible for providing.

The cost of the charging station would include pouring concrete, labor, wiring, and more — Dyehouse noted the station itself is around $20,000, “so we’d probably be out around $50,000 out of our general fund just to get this thing set up.

“Their argument is, it’s a $340,000 bus, and you’re getting it for $50,000,” he added. “They’re like, it’s pretty much a no-brainer. However, they don’t take into account that when you’re a small district, every penny that you spend out of the general fund, that’s the money you operate on. So our question is going to be, can we stand that coming out of the general fund right now in order to save that money down the road?”

Dyehouse noted that former Science Hill transportation director Chris Tilley applied for the grant when he was in that role, but Tilley is no longer performing that role with the school.

“They said (that with) the size of our district, not having such a big transportation route like a lot of big districts do — we only go about a mile, two miles out — (that) an electric bus, for us, we would have a shot at getting it,” said Dyehouse, who noted that he was notified Wednesday morning about the grant award.

He added that it was “a lottery-type deal, and they went with high-need areas the most.”

One advantage is that with diesel fuel being as costly as it currently is, the electric bus could provide financial relief in that regard — Dyehouse noted that was Tilley’s motivation for the application.

“It shouldn’t be any problem at all holding a charge (as far) out as we go, so it would be the savings on the fuel, and it it would be a brand-new bus to add to our fleet,” said Dyehouse of the advantages of the electric vehicle.

On the other hand, with the district routes being so limited, even fuel costs aren’t as bad as they could be for Science Hill as it is. “So I don’t know if the savings … (are) worth the $50,000,” said Dyehouse.

Should the battery need to be replaced, that’s another consideration, as Dyehouse said that one of those costs $80,000.

Other school districts in Kentucky to receive the grant money were August Independent, Bell County, Bourbon County, Jackson Independent and Paducah Independent.

Dyehouse said on Thursday that he should have word soon from the Science Hill School board on their preference regarding the electric bus.