Royal Oak Schools to use $4.45 million grant for 10 electric buses

ROYAL OAK — Royal Oak Schools announced in a press release that it has been awarded a $4.45 million Clean Bus Energy Grant from the Michigan Department of Education. 

The grant will go toward transitioning the traditional-fuel-powered buses to electric buses. 

The state-funded grant will be used to cover the charging infrastructure and 10 new electric vehicles. 

“Royal Oak Schools prioritizes sustainability across our district, and it is part of our strategic plan to ensure we are responsible stewards of our resources,” Superintendent John Tafelski said. “This state-funded grant will go a long way toward improving our environmental footprint by creating the infrastructure to support an electric fleet and replacing a few of our leased diesel vehicles with energy-efficient electric vehicles.”

According to the press release, the district’s leadership has begun planning for the infrastructure required to implement the transition to the electric buses and the “long term reliability” of the new fleet.

Tim Ciechorski, president of the Board of Education, said that Tafelski found the grant opportunity in 2025, and because the current fleet of buses is leased, the district liked the possibility of owning electric vehicles.

“Our administrative leadership worked on the grant application with the assistance of our full team. Although we don’t provide broad busing for all students in Royal Oak, we do provide it for our special education students and use it for field trips and athletics,” Ciechorski said. “The opportunity to build electric infrastructure and own some of our fleet with grant funding that would not increase taxes for Royal Oak residents was the perfect opportunity to make this green step forward.”

Tafelski said that the district is currently servicing 26 daily routes for the special education students with just over 30 diesel buses.

“These vehicles also serve our field trips and athletics. The grant will cover the cost of 10 new vehicles, so we will keep some of the diesel vehicles to maintain our current service levels,” he said. 

Both Ciechorski and Tafelski said they were excited to add these vehicles. 

“I think this is a wonderful update to our infrastructure and fleet,” Tafelski said. “I’m thrilled that we can make this update with state funding, and no local tax dollars have to be spent.”

“We want to work towards a smaller environmental footprint for Royal Oak Schools, and this is a major step forward towards that goal,” Ciechorski said. “As we update our buildings, infrastructure and materials, we are always looking for the smartest economic and environmentally friendly choice.”

The current plan is to have the infrastructure work complete by 2027, according to Ciechorski. 

“The implementation of the grant will take us some time as we assess our existing infrastructure, city power grid capabilities, and find the best system and vehicles for our needs,” he said. “We should have the new vehicles and infrastructure work complete in fall 2027.”

For more information on the Royal Oak School District, visit royaloakschools.org.