Last spring Rhode Island received millions of dollars to buy 45 new electric school buses.

Although the buses are emission-free and heavily subsidized by the federal Clean School Bus Program, they still come at a cost.

Jamestown and Lincoln were allocated about $3 million to help buy five and 10 electric school buses, respectively, but the federal grant only covers a portion of the total cost.

Unlike Providence and Pawtucket, which were also awarded funding for buses through the program, Jamestown and Lincoln aren’t considered priority communities and were allocated less per bus.

Priority communities have higher poverty levels, according to the program’s guidelines.

First Student, which applied for the grant on behalf of both towns and would own the buses, has offered to cover some of that gap, but not all of it.

At a Nov. 7 Jamestown School Committee meeting, officials and members of the community debated whether or not they could or should allocate the $540,000 needed to pay for the electric buses.

“They’re not our buses, we don’t own them, we can never own them,” said Jane Littlefield, the school district’s director of finance.

“So what is the return on investment?” School Committee chair Kristine Lapierre asked.

“Zero,” Littlefield replied.

The issue wasn’t up for a vote and the deadline to secure the funding needed is in 2025, although the committee members discussed urging First Student to fill in the gap.

Whether that money could come from First Student, other grants, or state funding is unclear.

First Student’s head of electrification Kevin Matthews said the bus company and the state “have been working cooperatively together and with other entities to bridge funding gaps and bring electric school buses to these districts.”

Terry Gray, director of the Department of Environmental Management, called investing in electric school buses “a major victory for Rhode Island,” and said the state is working with First Student to try to come up with a solution.

“While transitioning to an electric fleet comes with costs, and the Jamestown and Lincoln school districts have received financial support from the [Environmental Protection Agency] and First Student, there are still funding gaps that we are working tirelessly to address,” Gray wrote in a statement to ecoRI News. “This is where the collaborative strength of the EC4 [Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council] can play a critical role. We are working together to help Jamestown and Lincoln secure the remaining funds needed to keep this important project moving forward.”

Fran Webber, an organizer and community manager for Climate Action Rhode Island (CARI), said adopting electric buses advances both positive climate and public health policies.

The emission-free buses help lower overall emissions and don’t produce the diesel fumes that can negatively impact children’s health.

“We think that it’s a local issue that everyone can get behind,” she said.

There is a deadline for coming up with a match for the program, but Webber said CARI is also concerned that when a second Trump administration takes office, there might not be future electric bus grant opportunities.

Jamie Haines Matthews, a CARI volunteer and parent of two students in the Jamestown school system, said switching to electric buses would work alongside the district’s other green projects, including the recent addition of solar panels on school properties.

“From a parent perspective, obviously the kids’ health issue is very top of mind and of utmost importance,” said Matthews, referring to research that shows a link between diesel exhaust exposure and asthma.

As a small district with a relatively small budget, she said she hopes that other funding will be able to make up the gap.

“It would be a fantastic, fantastic step for Jamestown and for all of our students,” she said.