The Stockton Unified School District is adding 35 new electric buses to its fleet thanks to $15 million in grant funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez, Board Vice President Sofia Colón, Congressman Josh Harder and environmental advocates gathered at Edison High School to unveil the electric buses on Thursday.
Speaking to a crowd of students inside of Taggart Gym, Harder said he had childhood asthma and had to remember to pack his inhaler every morning before heading to school.
Now that he’s a father of two, the congressman said it’s his goal to make sure his children don’t breathe the same air he did.
“We know that Stockton has air quality problems, but bills like this don’t happen just by accident,” Harder said. “It’s because of the effort that was propelled by students and teachers across the county who told me how important this was going to be.”
In June, the congressman announced that the Stockton Unified School District would receive federal funding to replace the diesel school buses with new, clean electric buses as part of the EPA’s Clean School Buses Program.