SAN ANTONIO — A school district here was honored on Wednesday for its commitment to sustainability through its propane-fueled school bus program.

The City of San Antonio Office of Sustainability presented the San Antonio Independent School District (ISD) with an SA Tomorrow Sustainability award for its Clean Green Yellow School Bus Machines program. Douglas Melnick, the chief sustainability officer for the city, presented the district with the award at the City of San Antonio Main Council Chambers.  

In July 2017, the district began a program to switch future purchases of school buses from diesel to propane, Nathan Graf, the district’s senior executive director of transportation, told SBF.  

In early 2018, San Antonio ISD earned a Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grant that enabled it to replace 11 diesel school buses with propane models. The district earned another grant in late 2018 from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that allowed it to replace another five diesel buses with propane buses. The district also purchased eight more propane buses not tied to grant funds, and now 15% of its school bus fleet is powered by propane, Graf added.

San Antonio ISD aims to eventually have all 162 of its school buses operating with propane fuel.

The program also educates students and the community on the financial and environmental benefits of propane-fueled school buses, Graf added.