Tester Secures Nearly $4 Million for New School Buses for Montana School Districts

Funding will come from the Senator’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced that he secured $3,950,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus Program for Montana School Districts. This funding, which came from Tester’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), will go toward supplying brand new zero-emissions electric school buses for the Bigfork, Clinton, and Fairfield County School Districts. 

Tester worked across the aisle for months to negotiate his bipartisan package with a group of five Republicans, four Democrats, and the White House, and he was the only member of Montana’s congressional delegation to vote for it. 

“Students and families in smaller communities like the one I call home need access to reliable transportation options,” Tester said. “I am proud to have worked with Republicans and Democrats to invest in Montana’s public education infrastructure. This will benefit working Montana families while also strengthening our American manufacturing sector.”

A breakdown of the funding can be found below:

1. Bigfork: Bigfork Elementary School – $2,765,000 (7 buses)
2. Clinton: Clinton Elementary School – $790,000 (2 buses)
3. Fairfield: Fairfield Elementary School – $395,000 (1 bus)

Tester has been Montana’s leading champion for Montana’s students. In April, Senator Tester secured $14 million to support Montana rural schools, roads, and critical infrastructure through the Secure Rural Schools Program (SRS).

Last April, Senator Tester secured more than $12 million for Montana schools, law enforcement, and roads through SRS. Before that in 2019, Tester secured authorization for two years of SRS funding to combat the insecurity resulting from stop-and-start authorizations and payments. In 2021, he again pushed for long term solutions in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic to ease the burden on rural schools and communities.