EPA grant to help Minooka High cut busing costs

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Updated: March 13, 2012 8:07AM

MINOOKA — Thanks to grant money from the Environmental Protection Agency, some Minooka High School employees won’t have to get to work at 4 a.m. to start warming up buses.

The district has 38 buses, 30 of which have diesel engines. In order for the buses to be ready for picking up students, employees arrive several hours early on cold days to get them started and warmed up before routes, said district Business Manager Todd Drafall.

It takes more than an hour of idling time for each bus to be ready to drive, wasting fuel and polluting the air.

Three or four employees — maintenance workers and bus drivers — come in early to do the job, Drafall said.

The EPA has grant money available for schools to install core heaters on diesel engine buses. Minooka High School is eligible for $120,000 in grant money, which will equip between 24 and 30 buses.

The heater runs off the buses’ battery and fuel, starting the warming process several hours before the drivers arrive. The engines will not be idling for that time and district employees will not have to clock in the extra hours.

Once installed, the diesel engine buses will be able to start right up just like others by the time drivers arrive.

“When drivers come in, the diesel (buses) will be ready to go,” Drafall said.

When the district receives the grant money from the EPA, bids will be accepted for the work.

Spirit debit cards

Anyone who has Minooka Indians team spirit can show it off by getting a debit card through Citizens First National Bank in Minooka with the school’s logo.

The bank approached the school district with an offer to provide the card. Many colleges and universities, as well as professional teams, have logo debit cards.

“It’s official and moving (now),” said district Community Relations Director Dave DiLorenzo about the program.

The district gets a $5 donation back to the school for every Minooka Indians debit card that is opened, he said.

DiLorenzo thought it would be district parents who would want the unique card.

“Actually, it’s a lot more younger kids that are excited about the cards,” he said.