Denton ISD cuts fuel costs by buying propane school buses

by PegNews wire

DENTON — Denton Independent School District is receiving a check for more than $390,000 for its alternative fuel program. The special presentation will be made by Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Michael Williams at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, at the Transportation facility, located at 5093 East McKinney.

Commissioner Williams is presenting the district a check for $390,926.83, representing a $82,926.83 grant from the Commission’s Propane OEM School Bus Rebate Program and a $308,000 reimbursement from Blue Bird distributor Rush Enterprises, based on the federal Alternative Motor Vehicle Tax Credit. The Rush reimbursements are the first in the United States for propane school buses.

These awards follow a $267,309 Texas Emissions Reduction Program grant to Denton ISD from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the purchase of 44 propane buses.

“I’m proud to reward Denton ISD for making their yellow school buses greener,” said Williams. “This is an instance of ‘Going Green and Saving Green.’”

“Denton embraced propane as a fuel for the district’s buses 13 years ago, and I commend them for their dedication to this clean fuel,” Williams added. “The decision to use an alternative fuel means that this community’s students are getting to school and back safely and cleanly, while saving the district money and using a Texas-produced fuel and less foreign oil.”

In May, the district received the "National 2008 Exceptional Energy Fleet Award" from the Propane Educational & Research Council for “outstanding leadership in promoting alternative fuels.” The district’s bus fleet has 158 buses, more than half of which are powered by propane. Thirty-six others are fueled by biodiesel.

“School leaders around the state are wise to explore other fuel options with record-high diesel and gasoline prices putting a crunch on their district budgets,” Williams noted. “Many leaders have found that the incentives available at the federal, state and local levels make propane and natural gas buses a common-sense option for their school districts.”

Source: Denton Independent School District