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PERC donates $30,000 to schools operating autogas buses

October 1, 2015 By    
Boston Public Schools awarded donation from PERC for propane buses

From left: Bob Thacker, executive director of Adopt a Classroom; Roy Willis, PERC president; Lilla G. Frederick Middle School student; Jenna Bush Hager, NBC news correspondent; Tommy Chang, Boston Public Schools superintendent; and Marty Walsh, Boston mayor

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) partnered with Jenna Bush Hager, a journalist and former teacher, and the Adopt a Classroom nonprofit to donate more than $30,000 nationwide to schools that have adopted propane autogas buses.

According to PERC, there are more than 7,000 school buses in 45 states that run on autogas. PERC says the trend of school districts converting their fleets to autogas prompted it to launch a campaign to teach communities about the benefits of propane-powered transportation.

PERC donated $10,000 to the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School in Boston. Hager and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh surprised teachers at the school and announced they would receive the PERC funds to purchase supplies for their classroom. It was part of an event recognizing the Boston Public School District’s efforts to improve students’ health and safety by adopting the city’s first propane-powered school bus fleet. Boston Public Schools ordered 86 autogas school buses earlier this year.

“We’ve replaced nearly all of our wheelchair buses with propane because with the existing [diesel] fleet, the engine has to be on idle and we’ve got kids in chairs lined up near the back of the bus to get lifted into the bus,” says Peter Crossan, Boston Public Schools’ fleet and compliance manager, in a press release. “I really wanted to eliminate that situation for those students.”

PERC’s $30,000 donation will benefit teachers at seven schools this fall:

  • Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School in Massachusetts
  • Kyrene Monte Vista Elementary School in Arizona
  • Broward Education Foundation in Florida
  • Wilkes Elementary School in Oregon
  • Adams 12 Five Star Education Foundation in Colorado
  • St. Francis Elementary School in Minnesota
  • Friendswood Junior High in Texas

PERC, CleanFuel USA and others award Minnesota school district

CleanFuel USA, PERC awards St. Francis Elementary School in Minnesota for propane buses

From left: Curtis Donaldson, CleanFuel USA founder and managing director; Dean Krause, St. Francis transportation director; Dave Mohr, Telin Transportation Group; and Mark Childers, Thomas Built Bus customer support manager

PERC donated $2,500 to St. Francis Elementary School in St. Francis, Minn., for the school district’s efforts to improve students’ health and safety by adopting a propane-powered bus fleet. The donation was part of PERC’s campaign to educate consumers about the benefits of transitioning away from diesel.

According to CleanFuel USA, 41 of 50 school buses in the school district’s fleet run on autogas. The buses are Thomas Built Saf-T-Liner C2 units, equipped with liquid propane injection systems from CleanFuel USA.

PERC presented the donation to St. Francis Elementary School at a school board meeting, along with representatives from CleanFuel USA, Thomas Built, the American Lung Association and the Minnesota Propane Association.

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