I read recently about the funding that Congress and the Biden Administration has approved to help schools transition to cleaner school buses. This is a win-win! The school gets help buying buses so that more dollars can go where they are needed most- into the classroom. Schools will also save money on maintenance and fuel. Everyone, from the kids on the bus to the neighborhoods the buses wind their way through, gets cleaner healthier air. As a mom, I’m so excited that the transition is under way.

My son will start kindergarten next year and will need to ride a bus. I’ve watched as diesel school buses idle next to the school’s playground and am concerned about the impacts to my child’s health. I’m torn between wanting to use the school bus for my own child and my concern about the fumes on the bus. The air on school buses is up to 10 more toxic due to the diesel fumes from the bus. Our kids’ delicate lungs can be damaged by the toxic pollution causing problems that last a lifetime.

Several school districts around Colorado have just been awarded funding for electric school buses from the EPA. Our school district, Jeffco Public Schools, didn’t apply for funding this go around but I hope they will next round. This transition can’t happen fast enough.

Sara Kuntzler, Arvada