Sandra Waggoner said the grant, available through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, would be worth $141,000.

If BSISD earns the grant, work crews will “retrofit” 17 school buses with a system that will cut down on pollutants.

“It will help the buses burn fuel more cleanly and will cut down on emissions,” Waggoner said.

Not all of the BSISD fleet will be effected by work. The retrofit will not effect buses built after 2006. Also, buses must have at least five years of active life left in them to qualify for the work, Waggoner said.

If BSISD receives the grant, the grant would cover the entire cost of the retrofit, Waggoner said.

Big Spring ISD trustees will discuss the item during their Thursday night meeting, although the district has until late February to formally apply for the grant.

Making BSISD buses more eco-friendly is entirely optional on the district’s part, Waggoner said.

“This is not something that was mandated. We don’t have to retrofit the buses,” she said. “But it is something we’d like to do.”

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331, ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it