Among the things that kids associate with the start of the school year, you could include the exhaust fumes coming out of a yellow school bus.

"I think we all remember that distinct odor,” said Logan-Rogersville Superintendent Jeremy Tucker.

This project should reduce or eliminate that odor.

"Springfield has the largest fleet, we'll be able to retrofit 75 of their buses, and 15 in Logan-Rogersville,” said Michelle Garand of the Ozarks Clean Air Alliance.

This cash arrives as districts are paying record costs for fuel and, as a result, often investing in fewer new buses that would come with the filters to lower emissions. In Logan-Rogersville, officials say this will ultimately help with a budget crunch.

"The grant money will help us make these change instead of having to use our own funds,” said Tucker.

The ultimate goal of the grant is to improve the air quality on the bus and the health of the children riding inside every day.

"When it comes to indoor and encapsulated air, we want to make sure that's as clean as possible,” said Garant.

The grant went first to Springfield's fleet, because it's the largest in the area. They could help with 75 of its buses. With some money left over, the Alliance decided Logan-Rogersville's buses could benefit from the assistance.

The Ozarks Clean Air Alliance says it is still looking at opportunities for grants to help other schools improve their fleets across the region.
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News release from the EPA:

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- EPA Region 7 and the Blue Skyways Collaborative will work with the Ozarks Clean Air Alliance to reduce local children's exposure to diesel exhaust through a special $130,301 grant for school bus refits. The Ozarks Clean Air Alliance will provide a $8,212 local contribution as part of the grant award.

The program will provide funding to retrofit 75 Springfield Public School’s buses and up to 14 Logan-Rogersville School buses with EPA-verified diesel oxidation catalysts and crankcase filters to reduce pollution. The equipment is expected to reduce particulate matter, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds emissions from each bus.

The goals of Clean School Bus USA are to reduce children's exposure to diesel exhaust and the amount of air pollution created by diesel school buses. Springfield Public School’s buses log more than 1.6 million miles per year, transporting more than 6,000 students throughout the community. Logan-Rogersville adds thousands of additional miles to this total while serving a more rural community.

School buses are the safest way for children to get to school. However, pollution from older diesel vehicles has health implications for everyone, especially children. By working together, we can reduce pollution from public school buses -- making sure that school buses are also a clean way for children to get to school.

As a provision of the Clean School Bus program, grant recipients must develop policies and practices to eliminate unnecessary public school bus idling. It also encourages upgrading entire fleets of buses with better emission-control technologies and/or fueling them with cleaner fuels. School districts are also encouraged, when possible, to replace the oldest buses with new, less-polluting buses.

The partnership between Blue Skyways Collaborative, Ozarks Clean Air Alliance and the school districts is designed to help reduce air pollution in the Springfield metro area by bringing together partners from business, education, transportation, and public-health organizations.