Eight school districts in Iowa will receive matching grants from the state's Bus Emissions Education Program (BEEP) to buy new diesel school buses. Each district will receive $30,450 for a new bus. The new vehicles will replace buses manufactured between 1981 and 1992.
The districts: Camanche Community Schools; Independence Community School District; West Hancock Community Schools; Southeast Webster-Grand Community School District; Western Dubuque County Community School District; George-Little Rock Community School District; Cardinal Community School District; and Creston Community School District.
To receive a grant, districts are required to enforce an idling-reduction policy, demonstrate need, and discuss their efforts to reduce pollution at their facilities. The new buses they will purchase must at least meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2007 engine standards for environmental controls and safety standards. New buses emit 95 percent less pollution than the old bus engines the school districts are replacing.
