$7.8M Electric School Bus Grant Decision On Hold In Brick

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township Board of Education is expected to vote on a $7.8 million grant to buy electric buses at its February meeting, officials said Tuesday night.

The grant, from the state Department of Environmental Protection, was announced at the Dec. 12 school board meeting, as the district was weighing the possibility of buying 25 electric school buses through a grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The state grant would cover buses and the electric charging stations needed to power them, said Jim Edwards, the business administrator for the Brick Township Schools.

On Tuesday, Edwards said the board's finance committee met Jan. 14 and Jan. 17 and asked Edwards to provide additional cost analyses on the break-even point on the cost of buses to the district.

Edwards said the matter was expected to be discussed at the next board meeting, on Thursday, Feb. 20.

"We wanted to understand, based on how many buses we order, where are we making money and where are we losing money," board vice president Mike Mesmer said. "Where does it financially make sense to the district?"

Mesmer, in response to questions from residents Vic Fanelli and John Sluka about the delay in acting on the grant, said the changeover on the board along with the fact that the $7.8 million grant was presented to the board in December have led to the board taking an extra month to discuss the purchase.

New board members John Henry and George Malgeri were sworn in Jan. 2, and the board committee assignments were changed as a result.

"This is a huge decision for the district," Mesmer said. He also said some members of the board are uncomfortable with buying so many buses; the 20 54-passenger buses amount to about 40 percent of the district's 54-passenger bus fleet, he said.

At the Dec. 12 meeting, Superintendent Thomas Farrell said the state grant for the electric buses would save the district money, because of the difference in costs regarding maintenance and fuel for gasoline and diesel buses.

The cost differences — both between the hard purchase price and "soft" costs of maintenance and fuel — would protect more than 40 teaching jobs over 12 years, the estimated life of the buses, Farrell said.

His explanation can be watched in full here.

The Dec. 12 meeting also included a lengthy discussion answering safety concerns raised by board members and some residents regarding the batteries used to power the buses. Lithium ion buses have been blamed for multiple fires, but a number of measures are in placeto ensure battery safety on buses.

You can watch the Dec. 12 meeting replay here on YouTube.

The district has been discussing the electric bus purchase since May 2024, when it was awarded a $5.1 million grant from the federal EPA. Read more: $5.1M Electric School Bus Grant In Brick In Jeopardy Over Cost, Safety Questions