The problem was that the South Carolina Department of
Education, which owns nearly all of the state’s 5,600 school buses—including those operated by Greensville County Public Schools—at the time only had specs for propane-powered general education buses. Greenville County had 70 of these propane buses, and Jack was bound and determined to get one for his route. “He kept telling his dad and me that he wanted us to buy one
for [bus driver] Miss Geri,” Shawn recalled. “We told him, ’Honey, we can’t afford to buy a bus.’ His dad I think was the one who said, ‘Well, you can petition for it.’” Like a dog with a bone, Jack began researching propane school buses. He learned how much they limited emissions and how much cheaper they were to fuel and to operate than a diesel bus. He prepared an informational pamphlet, letter and a petition with signatures and mailed them on Sept. 19, 2019 to Adam James, the school district’s director of transportation. The only minor issue was, Shawn Kendrick recounted, the signatures Jack had “collected” were names of family members and classmates who hadn’t actually signed the petition. Jack with zeal hadn’t asked each person to sign. Instead, he misunderstood the process, and signed all the names himself, and with his own last name at the end of each. “He didn’t quite get it at first,” his mom laughed. “He was trying.” Still, James was so impressed with the information and request, he passed it on to League Academy Principal Mary Leslie Ander- son and asked to meet Jack in person. Following that sit down, James then contacted Gary Fast, at the time the interim director of transportation with the South Carolina Department of Educa- tion, who in turn shared Jack’s letter with State Superintendent Molly Spearman. Spearman soon responded and thanked Jack for setting such
a good example for his fellow classmates along with a model school bus, and a pledge to “explore the possibilities of future bus specifications to include a lift equipped propane bus to ensure all students have accessibility.” A year later, the state delivered on Spearman’s promise. On Sept. 15, 2020, a propane-powered 2021 Thomas Built Bus Saf-T- Liner C2 with wheelchair lift was delivered to League Academy and presented to Jack during a ceremony. Superintendent Spear- man was in attendance along with representatives from the state, school district and Thomas Bus. Mike Bullman, named South Carolina DOE’s director of transportation last fall, was previously the state’s director of maintenance. He told School Transportation News that propane school buses with wheelchair lifts will be coming soon to school districts throughout the state. A new solicitation for a propane special needs bus was due out at the end of July. “When he reached out and it got to [the] superintendent, we
felt it would be a great opportunity to accomplish a couple of things—Take care of Jack and pilot propane platform in special needs application,” Bullman recalled. The resulting pilot project using Jack’s bus provided a differ-
ent operating environment for the county and state to cull data from. For one, idling time increased because of the wheelchair lift operation. Bullman said the reduced weight of the propane
School Transportation News Announces Second Annual Green Bus Summit Fleet Awards
Four school districts and a national school bus contractor were honored last month during the STN EXPO Reno and Green Bus Summit for their adoption of alternative fuel and energy. STN chose the winners in affiliation with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a part of the U.S. Department of Energy, out of 48 nominations submitted this spring. The fleets were judged based on emissions reductions realized, impact on the local community, measured student and driver health improvements, and the commitment to ongoing greening of the fleet. The organizations received their plaques on July 17 during the Green Bus Summit.
Large Public Fleet: Los Angeles Unified School District
Large Private Fleet: Student Transportation of America
Medium Public Fleet: Kansas City Public Schools in Missouri
Small Public Fleet: Salt Lake City School District in Utah
Rural District Under 50 Buses: Three Rivers Community Schools in Michigan
www.stnonline.com 17
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