The Maine Department of Education is accepting applications to receive subsidy for new school buses purchased through the School Bus Purchase Program. The application period is November 1 through November 25, 2019.
The Department will be able to approve about $9 million in school bus allocations that combines new bus requests and the prior year bus term commitment. Round one applications will be accepted. This program provides subsidy to school administrative units (SAUs) in order to offset partial cost of new school buses that are used to transport students to and from home and school and school events. This program is a resource to help SAUs purchase new school buses, retire end of life school buses, and respond to emergency and special bus needs. Eligible vehicles must meet Code of Maine Regulations Chapter 85 minimum qualifications, with the exception of Section 3.1.
The School Bus Purchase Program instructions and application information are available on the Maine DOE’s NEO website dashboard. For more information or technical assistance, please contact Pat Hinckley at 624-6886 or email pat.hinckley@maine.gov .