Assemblyman John Mikulin (R,C-Bethpage) spoke at a press conference on school bus electrification in New York state led by Sen. Steve Rhoads on Feb. 25 to help support the call for Gov. Hochul to “Pump the Brakes” on fully implementing the Electric School Bus Mandate statewide. Assemblyman Ari Brown (R-Cedarhurst), Assemblyman Brian Curran (Lynbrook-21st A.D.), Bob Vecchio, Executive Director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association and Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick were also in attendance at the event to raise awareness of the financial burden schools on Long Island and beyond will face unless things change.

“While I am an advocate for environmental policy in New York state, delivering a heavy-handed mandate like this to our school districts is an irresponsible decision. New electric school buses cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per bus and upgrading equipment and garages to charge the buses and protect them from unpredictable weather conditions will carry additional costs many school districts are not prepared for. Fully implementing the Electric School Bus Mandate statewide within the next few years is not sustainable, and we need to pump the brakes on this plan before our schools face financial hardships they cannot come back from,” Mikulin said.