FRANKFORT, Ky. — Six school districts in Kentucky will share nearly $200,000 in funding to reduce emissions from their school buses.

Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear, Energy and Environment Cabinet Sec. Len Peters and EPA Region IV Acting Administrator Stan Meiberg presented checks to the districts on Tuesday.

Kentucky's Clean School Bus program is being administered by the state Division of Air Quality (DAQ).

School districts in Bell, Boone, Fayette, Franklin and Jefferson counties and Paducah Independent School District were awarded a total of $196,880 to retrofit school buses with pollution-reduction equipment and purchase filter-cleaning devices.

Last week, Gov. Steve Beshear announced that Kentucky would receive $1.73 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to further support the Clean School Bus program.

In Kentucky, 9,883 school buses carry 447,000 students to and from school each day, driving 102 million miles and burning 13 million gallons of diesel fuel. The Clean School Bus program reduces school bus pollution through a combination of idle-reduction policies and bus retrofits.

Other school districts in the state interested in receiving funding can access the grant application online at www.air.ky.gov. The application deadline is May 29.