North Shore Schools Awarded $20 Million For Electric School Buses

BEVERLY, MA — New electric school buses are coming to Beverly, Essex Tech, Marblehead and Salem as part of $20 million in federal Clean School Bus Program rebates ticketed for North Shore communities.

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Salem) said that the zero-carbon school bus funding program is part of the Infrastructure Law that provides $5 billion for electric buses nationwide.

"Taking on the climate crisis doesn't just happen at the national level — it happens locally as well," Moulton said in a statement to Patch. "This funding is vital to bringing down vehicle emissions and serves as a direct investment in the students who take the bus every day."

Moulton's office said Salem will receive $2.6 million for 13 buses, Beverly will receive $1,455 million for eight school buses, Essex Tech will receive $1.38 million for four school buses and Marblehead will receive $200,000 for one bus.

Ipswich, Newburyport and Gloucester are also slated to receive rebates.

"This funding will make possible an especially meaningful step in that important work," Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo said. "Electric buses reduce overall vehicle emissions and improve air quality for children and others in our community, helping us meet critical sustainability and public health goals simultaneously. I'm grateful to our federal partners and the EPA for this award, and to the city and Salem Public School teams that helped secure it."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)