GREENFIELD — South Monterey County Joint Union High School District (SMCJUHSD), which includes King City and Greenfield high schools, is among 133 educational agencies awarded funding through California’s Zero-Emissions School Bus and Infrastructure (ZESBI) project.
The district has been approved for six eligible school bus replacements as part of the state’s broader push toward clean transportation.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced April 23 that $500 million in grants have been awarded to school districts across the state to support the purchase of 1,000 zero-emission school buses and related charging infrastructure, with a focus on rural, low-income and disadvantaged communities.
SMCJUHSD is the only district in Monterey County to be approved for funding; two others — Monterey Peninsula Unified and Washington Union Elementary — have been waitlisted.
“California is paving the way to a cleaner, healthier future by investing in zero-emission vehicles across the state,” Newsom said. “From clean buses for kids in some of our most polluted communities to electric semi-trucks that provide the backbone for California businesses — we’re proving that clean transportation is here to stay.”
The ZESBI grants, expected to be finalized by the end of the year, are part of a larger statewide effort to reduce emissions and improve air quality, particularly in pollution-burdened areas. Over 70% of the zero-emission school buses currently in use are operating in these communities.
“Cleaning up the state’s school bus fleet is central to California’s efforts to provide clean transportation in priority communities that are disproportionately hurt by air pollution,” said California Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph. “The vast majority of these grants will go to local educational agencies that serve these communities.”
To date, the state has invested over $1.3 billion to fund more than 2,300 zero-emission school buses. More than 300 California school districts and local educational agencies have purchased at least one, with some fully transitioning to 100% clean fleets.
“California has set important benchmarks for removing internal combustion vehicles from our roads and replacing them with clean transportation,” said California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild. “CEC is helping school districts move in that direction by funding ZESBI.”
Zero-emission school buses are a key component of the state’s plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2045. Under current regulations, all school bus purchases made by California school districts must use zero-emission technology by 2035, with rural frontier districts allowed until 2045.
