With a growing movement to transport children in buses fueled by propane, the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) has begun a campaign to teach communities about the benefits of propane-powered transportation that include improved health. Today more than 7,000 buses across the U.S. are currently using the fuel and in an effort to see this number continue to rise, PERC is partnering with journalist and former teacher Jenna Bush Hager and the nonprofit Adopt a Classroom to donate more than $30,000 to teachers at schools adopting propane buses.
Jenna Bush Hager rides with students to Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School in celebration of their adoption of cleaner, safer propane school buses. (Photo: Propane Education & Research Council)
“It’s clear when you talk to school administrators and transportation departments that they are saving more than just dollars and cents by going with propane buses,” said Hager. “The switch is improving their school as a whole and giving them the opportunity to invest in more teachers or school programs.”
PERC’s donation will assist teachers at seven schools this fall, including Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School in Massachusetts; Kyrene Monte Vista in Arizona; Broward Education Foundation in Florida; Wilkes Elementary in Oregon; Five Star Education Foundation in Colorado; St. Francis Elementary in Minnesota; and Friendswood Jr. High in Texas.
Hager surprised teachers at the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School in Boston with the news they would receive a total of $10,000 from PERC to purchase supplies for their classroom. Boston Public Schools is the first district in the city to switch from diesel to propane buses. Today, the transition from diesel to propane buses has been reported in 20 of the top 25 designated market areas, and four of the 10 largest school districts in the country are using them.
“As a former teacher and parent, I know that the school day begins and ends on the bus,” added Hager. “When we give our kids a safer, healthier start to the day, it can improve their entire experience in the classroom and at home, too.”