$2M for EV school buses in Baldwin County will help a county ‘overburdened by pollution’

A Georgia county with a disproportionately high rate of minority K-12 students suffering from respiratory problems could find some relief in a $2 million federal grant for electronic school buses.

The Baldwin County School District will receive a $2 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program to acquire six electric buses to improve air quality, the agency announced on May 29. The cleaner fleets will replace older, diesel-powered buses that have been linked to causing problems with asthma and other health issues affecting students, especially those of disadvantaged communities, the federal agency said in a news release.

The federal money is crucial for the district to be able afford the buses, according to Eric Little, director of transportation for Baldwin County schools.

“Without the grant, the cost of purchasing the buses wouldn’t be an economically viable option for the district. The grant provides an opportunity for our students and community to be exposed to a type of buses which under normal circumstances would be much more difficult to obtain,” he said in an email.

Black Baldwin County residents visited emergency rooms for respiratory disorders at a higher rate than others from 2018 to 2022 according to Georgia Department of Health data.

Black youth aged 17 and under in Baldwin County accounted for 68% of emergency room visits for respiratory disorders from 2018 to 2022, a significant difference from white youth’s 26% of emergency room visits, the data shows.

The bus program advances President Joe Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, “which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved and overburdened by pollution,” the agency said in a press release.

People of color and low-income populations in Milledgeville are in the 80-90th percentile and 95-100th percentile, respectively, when compared to national socioeconomic percentiles, according to the EPA.

Georgia Department of Education data shows that Baldwin County had an rate of emergency room visits for asthma of 809.8 per 100,000, ranking it No. 39 out of 159 Georgia counties in 2022.

Because diesel air pollution is linked to multiple health conditions and premature deaths, it can cause students to miss school, “particularly in communities of color and Tribal communities,” the agency said.

One in 10 kindergartens and first graders in Baldwin County were chronically absent in 2023, according to a recent school district attendance presentation. Two in 10 low-income students also missed school and were described as more likely to suffer academically.

Although the numbers do not mention if the absences were health-related, the school system faced a chronic absenteeism problem of its most youngest pupils. In 2023, 65% of Baldwin County School students were Black, according to the state’s Educator Pipeline Dashboard.

Baldwin County’s air quality is poorer than state and national averages, which are measured per cubic meter of very small particles in the air, according to County Health Rankings.

In the press release, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the funding allows the agency to “transform the nation’s school bus fleet to better protect our most precious cargo—our kids—saving school districts money, improving air quality, and bolstering American manufacturing all at the same time.”

Little said the district is excited about the positive impact the initiative will have on its students’ well-being and environmental sustainability efforts within the community.

“Transitioning towards a cleaner fleet means that we can start with improving the air quality for students that will be transported on electric school buses,” Little said in an email. “Electric buses have zero tailpipe pollution, producing zero Nitrogen Oxide or particulate matter, helping to assist with reducing air contaminants to improve overall human health.”

The federal grant will also help Baldwin County cover a lift bus that’s compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as additional resources from Georgia Power to get the charging infrastructure needed, Little added.