PALMYRA, Wis. — Electric school buses are revolutionizing the way more than 300 students in southeastern Wisconsin are getting to school.  

The Palmyra-Eagle Area School District is the first in the state to have a fleet of electric school buses, thanks to federal grant money.

What You Need To Know

  • Electric school buses are revolutionizing the way more than 300 students in southeastern Wisconsin are getting to school

  • Palmyra-Eagle Area School District is the first in the state to have a fleet of electric school buses

  • The Palmyra-Eagle Area School District was able to get six electric buses.

  • According to the EPA, 18 other school districts in Wisconsin are receiving funding from the same federal grant program to get electric buses

Palmyra-Eagle High School senior Dylan Kysley said he takes pride in his school district’s effort to help the environment and reduce emissions.

“The efforts that we make to reduce climate change are going to impact future generations around us,” he said. “With the way our world is moving now, trying to reduce emissions and be more eco-friendly, this is definitely a big thing that’s going to happen to a lot more schools other than us.”

Jessica Chelminak works for Dousman Transport Co., Inc. As the assistant terminal manager for the Kettle Moraine and Palmyra Schools, she had to get specially trained to drive the electric buses for the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District.

“With the electric buses, the whole concept of the bus is the same,” she said. “The only thing I really had to get used to is how sensitive the break and gas are because these buses have quite a bit of get up-and-go. These electric buses also don’t have a shift stick next to the steering wheel like we’re used to. It’s all push-button for drive, neutral and reverse.”

The Palmyra-Eagle Area School District has six electric buses. When fully charged, each bus can travel about 135 miles.

Both Chelminak and Kysley noticed one big difference right away.

“They’re extremely quiet,” Kysley said. “You can hear everything, and it’s just kind of a surreal experience to be part of when you are on these buses.”

“Normally, we would have a lot more noise going on here, that I would be talking at the top of my lungs to try to have a simple conversation,” Chelminak said. “The quietness of these buses is going to be phenomenal for bus drivers.”

The Palmyra-Eagle Area School District could get six electric buses and install the necessary charging equipment, thanks to a more than $2 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Bus Program.

According to the EPA, 18 other school districts in Wisconsin are receiving funding from the same federal grant program to get electric buses, including:

  • Augusta
  • Coleman
  • Colfax
  • Edgar
  • Granton Area
  • Highland
  • Lac du Flambeau No. 1
  • Lakeland UHS
  • Lomira
  • Melrose-Mindoro
  • Minocqua J1
  • Mondovi
  • Parkview
  • Pepin Area
  • Random Lake
  • Tri-County Area
  • Wild Rose
  • Winter