Steelton-Highspire School District is small. It serves just 1,350 kids. It only has two schools, an elementary and a combined junior high and high school. And, an overwhelming majority of the students live at or below the federal poverty level.

But, as of this spring, it’s the only school district in the state of Pennsylvania to run an entirely electric bus fleet and to rely entirely on solar power. “They should hit the road any day,” Mick Iskric, district superintendent, said of the district’s new electric buses

Located in Steelton, a borough of just over 6,000 people, the school district serves an area that is just a few miles from the state capitol in Harrisburg. As its name suggests, Steelton is home to the first mill in the country that dedicated itself exclusively to the fabrication of steel. It has since become one of the few remaining rail producers across the Americas.

Funding for the school district is tight. In fact, it is historically underfunded, by more than $10 million a year, according to Iskric. So for him, every penny counts to fund not only daily operations and programming but bigger projects, like updating an entire bus fleet. 

 “I look for every ounce. I’ll take 20 bucks,” Iskric said of funding opportunities. “We look for every revenue generator possible.”

When a federal grant through the Environmental Protection Agency, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, became available to update the district’s fleet of buses, it was an opportunity Iskric said he felt couldn’t be missed. The $2.3 million rebate the district received was part of the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program, which is utilizing $5 billion over five years to swap out existing school buses with models that have low-to-zero emissions. 

“We were awarded the six buses but also charging infrastructure as well, so immediately that was like, this is awesome,” Iskric said. “The power of the electric bus is not only the main driver to transport kids, but there’s other factors along with it. The bus can be an energy hub that we can take into the community if there is a natural disaster or a pandemic. You can set up shop in the community to fill a void. We see it more of a resource beyond the transportation role.”

When coupled with the savings the district is already seeing with its solar array, which provides all of the electricity the district needs, Steelton-Highspire has found creative ways to reallocate funding that would have otherwise gone towards transportation and electricity bills. The district acquired its 1.7 megawatt solar array, positioned in movable concrete tubs on top of an old landfill, through a power purchase agreement with the local McClure Company. Iskric anticipates the district will save up to $15,000 a year for at least the first decade with the solar array, which doesn’t include tax incentives. After the 14th year, the district is expected to save more than $200,000 a year.

“It was a no-brainer to do a project like this,” he said.

For Iskric, every bit of savings is reinvested back into the schools. He explained that if the district is able to save $10,000 a quarter on a certain endeavor, then he knows over the course of a year that he could have enough to allocate an additional salary for a paraprofessional. It all adds up. 

And with the flexibility that the electric fleet of buses affords the district, Iskric said he sees new and improved opportunities for outreach and support within the community that didn’t exist with the gas-powered fleet.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden in 2021. The law will invest billions of dollars in federal funding into rural infrastructure, disaster assistance, high-speed internet, and more.