San Diego School District awarded $9.75 million for clean transportation options
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – The San Diego Unified School District was awarded $9.75 million to promote zero-emission transportation options for students, parents and staff, the California Air Resources Board announced Tuesday.
A total of $24 million was awarded by the state board to three school districts, all intended to fund projects cutting down or eliminating transportation emissions as part of the Clean Mobility in Schools Pilot Project.
CARB Executive Officer Richard Corey said the two-year pilot project “addresses the need to do more — beyond cleaning up school buses — to reduce exposure to harmful air pollution by children and others in and around schools.”
“These projects will set up the schools to address climate change, reduce air pollution, and lead the next generation in learning about and using clean mobility options,” he said. “Congratulations to these first grant winners.”
The pilot project is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative “that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment, particularly in disadvantaged communities,” according to CARB.
The other recipients are the El Monte Union High School District and the Stockton Unified School District, which received $9.8 million and $4.8 million, respectively.
Projects developed and run by the individual school district grantees will be designed to meet community or district needs. According to CARB, one major goal of the pilot project is to serve as a laboratory to test different approaches and develop a blueprint and guidance for other school districts interested in implementing similar projects.
Examples of possible projects include vanpools for district employees, developing vehicle-to-grid charging infrastructure, and school curricula to teach students how zero-emission vehicle technology works and training them on how to repair and maintain the vehicles.
Each project is located within a disadvantaged community, defined by Senate Bill 535 as areas where more people are exposed to harmful pollutants and suffer from greater economic and health burdens.
