County's first electric school bus in Matlock

The Mary M. Knight School District has received the first electric school bus in Mason County, a $275,000 gift from the state Department of Ecology.

The bus was delivered last week, and should be transporting students in the next couple weeks, said Superintendent Matt Mallery. The grant also paid for a charger for the bus.

The bus can travel about 100 to 120 miles on an electric charge, Mallery said. That means the bus can pick up and deliver students to the two schools in the morning, be recharged during the day, conduct the afternoon runs and then be recharged overnight by the new solar panels on the bus barn roof, he said.

Tony Lane, the district's transportation supervisor, took the bus out for a test drive.

"She's got quite a bit of get up and go ... My biggest surprise is how much power it has," he said.

Also, "It's so quiet, you're not sure if it's going," Lane said.

Having an electric bus will save the district about $4,500 a year in maintenance, including the absence of oil changes, Mallery said. The district has applied for a grant to receive a second one, he said.

The Elma School District also received a new electric bus. That district performs the maintenance on the Mary M. Knight buses.

In April 2020, the state DOE announced it was awarding 40 new, zero-emission electric school buses.

"This is a great investment in a healthier future for students and their communities," Gov. Jay Inslee announced at the time. The Franklin Pierce School District had the only electric school bus in the state.

Diesel exhaust contains nitrogen oxides and other forms of toxic air pollution. To receive the grant, the district was required to surplus one of its diesel buses.

Funding from Washington's Volkswagen diesel emission settlement paid for the 40 buses, which were awarded to 22 school districts in the state.

The state DOE reports that the Volkswagen settlements stem from the discovery that the carmakers illegally installed software on its diesel cars that activated emission controls only when it detected the emissions were being tested. In ordinary driving, the software allowed the engines to emit as much as 40 times the legal limit for nitrous oxides, violating the state and federal Clean Air Acts, department reports.