pulling up hills,” Stamper said. The propane buses are fu-


eled locally at a special fueling station built for the district that includes diesel. Propane is $2.28 per gallon versus $3.01 for diesel, and maintenance is cheaper on propane, too, Stamper said. As much as she likes the


propane buses, the difficulty of refueling outside the area means they can’t be used on extracurricular or sports trips that—in Big Sky country—can be four- or five-hour treks through mountains on winding, two- lane roads. Electric buses could be tricky even on regular routes, which can stretch to 100 miles, she added. And they likely need diesel heaters in frigid Montana winters.


I think there are some great opportunities with electric, but we really need, nationwide, better infrastructure. Diesel is right there. If you don’t have to spend six to eight hours to recharge, it’s a huge difference in what we can do with our students. - Zada Stamper, Laurel Public Schools.


“I think there are some great


opportunities with electric, but we really need, nationwide, better infrastructure,” Stamper said. “Diesel is right there. If you don’t have to spend six to eight hours to recharge, it’s a huge difference in what we can do with our students.” The economics of diesel are


also clearer for the district, and it is able to replace buses every 10 years through state depre- ciation funding. The district is allowed to use “red dye farm diesel,” as Stamper calls it, regular diesel that is colored to identify its tax-free status. “With diesel we know we’re


[comparing] apples to apples,” she said “We use government fleet cards, we don’t pay astro-


46 School Transportation News • MARCH 2026


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