Unseasonably warm days in January make for a great day to wash the car and take a walk in the park, but the weather is a reflection of a growing danger - climate change. Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) is not standing by idly and instead is taking action to address the climate crisis. The system is among the first in the state unveiling their new fleet of electric school buses in a press conference and ribbon cutting ceremony on January 30, 2024. The event featured BCPSS CEO Dr. Sonia Santelises and federal officials from the EPA and Vice-President Harris’s office discussing the impact this fleet will have on students, families, and communities. AFT-Maryland President Kenya Campbell and City Union of Baltimore (CUB) local 800 President Antoinette Ryan-Johnson were also on hand as the new fleet of buses will involve federation members from the Baltimore Teachers Union local 340, and from CUB.
“We know that the health of young people impacts how they do in schools. If you are a student with asthma, your asthma is irritated or activated because of diesel fuel, and that makes you less ready to learn. So, whenever we can have young people at their healthiest, we know it’s good for learning,” said Dr. Santelises when asked how electric buses would benefit students in the classroom.
Antoinette Ryan-Johnson is optimistic about the new bus fleet and its impact on society and on CUB members who will work in different aspects of maintenance of the new electric buses. “I think it’s a great thing [the electric buses] because it’s moving our membership forward and progressing them in the different types of technology that we’re facing in the world.”
Also on hand for the ribbon cutting event was Baltimore City School Board Commissioner Ashley Esposito. She was heartened by the school system addressing environmental issues which is something she ran on when elected as one of the first ever elected school board commissioners in Baltimore city history. “It’s cool to see something that used to be a twitter post from the EPA saying ‘hey we’ve got funding for electric buses’ and to see it actually implemented here, I think that’s awesome,” Esposito commented after the event.
Article and photos by AFT Maryland staff
2024-01-31