The White House unveiled nearly $900 million in grants Wednesday for school districts nationwide to replace aging, gas-fueled school buses with electric models, despite the ongoing struggle with child illiteracy in the U.S. education system. The funding, part of the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program, aims to support the Biden administration’s goal of transitioning to zero-emission vehicles.
While EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan emphasized the benefits of clean school buses, such as improved air quality and strengthened manufacturing jobs, critics argue that the administration’s priorities may be misaligned with the pressing needs of students. Biannual testing through the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) consistently shows that two-thirds of U.S. fourth-grade children are unable to read with proficiency, with 40% being “essentially nonreaders.”
Despite the U.S. spending an average of $17,013 per public school pupil annually, totaling $870 billion in expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools in 2019-2020, the literacy crisis persists. Some question whether investing heavily in green infrastructure is the most effective use of resources when so many students are struggling academically.
The drive for environmentally friendly school buses is a key component of the Biden administration’s larger “environmental” goals, aiming to enhance public school facilities and decrease pollution but neglecting to improve the standards for a public school system being left behind.
The story is a perfect illustration of the Biden administration’s flare for gesture and symbolism and its failure to achieve any real, practical results for the American people.
There’s always some noble reason that Americans should watch their standard of living decline when the president is unwilling to admit to his failures. Here, we see a giveaway that puts appeasing the extreme environmental left over actually improving the education of students across America.
