CRCS Pressured for Electric Buses

By Joshua Walther

COBLESKILL - The CRCS Board of Education discussed the zero emissions bus mandate from the state last Tuesday at their regular monthly meeting, and they seem to be facing a daunting task.

Over the past several years, New York State has held several sessions to determine whether or not electric school buses are viable for a greener future. And, in just the past few months, a special committee decided that all schools should begin looking into electric vehicles, or EVs.

According to the mandate, any and all bus purchases that are made after the year 2027 must be EVs, and every school district should have a fully functional electric fleet by 2035.

However, in Cobleskill and other rural parts of the state, Board officials are worried that they don’t have a big enough time frame to work with.

“There’s only one charging station in Cobleskill that I know of,” said Board President Bruce Tryon, referring to the stations located near the library. “Do I need to say more?”

Superintendent Matthew Sickles echoed his concerns, saying that Cobleskill simply doesn’t have the infrastructure for this kind of technology. Furthermore, they would need to acquire more property to expand their bus garage and outfit it with proper charging equipment.

Additionally, there’s the price to consider, as well. Superintendent Sickles explained that while the districts are mandated to look into EVs, the companies that manufacture and sell them are not beholden to any directives. As such, there may be a sliding price point.

Along with this, Superintendent Sickles stated that each new charging station can cost anywhere between $20,000 and $100,000, which is no small amount of change. And with some wealthier districts already ahead of the game in terms of installing new infrastructure, Cobleskill has some catching up to do.

However, there may be hope. Superintendent Sickles said that he is working closely with advocacy groups that determine the effects of geographical and topographical demands and how that ties in with the mandate.

However, with New York State firm in their stance, this is not a battle that will go away with time, and it is expected that CRCS will acquire EVs in the coming years to begin test runs with the new buses.