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Clean School Bus Program Gets New Funds, New Leadership, and New Support from Ebby Halliday, REALTORS

Release Date: 11/14/2003
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

      Today, the Texas State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) received a $700,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean School Bus USA program to reduce pollution from school buses in the Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston areas, EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene announced today.  

      The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) accepted management responsibilities for the Dallas/Fort Worth area Adopt-A-School Bus program from the American Lung Association of Texas.  Now in the program's "driver seat," NCTCOG has pledged to keep the Adopt-A-School Bus program revved up with a commitment to use approximately $3 million in federal funds for the program.

      NCTCOG Transportation Department Director Michael Morris said, "The North Central Texas Council of Governments and the Regional Transportation Council will be working with regional school districts to see which replacements or retrofit options are best.  We will also work with school districts to look at funding options, such as private sponsorship funds, state, and federal grants.  The North Central Texas Council of Governments alone will have approximately $3 million dollars available in the spring of 2004 for school district initiatives."

      Dallas/Fort Worth area businesswoman and civic leader Ebby Halliday introduced her company's new Adopt-A-School Bus Home Rebate program.  Each time consumers buy or sell a home through the program, Ebby Halliday, REALTORS will make a donation to NCTCOG's ongoing efforts to reduce diesel school bus emissions across the Metroplex.  In addition, home buyers or sellers get a cash rebate they can use as they see fit.

      Dallas-based Ebby Halliday, REALTORS is the largest independent residential real estate company in Texas and ranked ninth in the nation. A long time advocate of children's health and community issues, Ms. Halliday is championing the cause of giving local children a "cleaner, greener ride to and from school." She has issued a public challenge to other Metroplex area businesses to follow her lead.

      Ms. Halliday said, "My hope is that area companies will now 'get on board' with the Adopt-A-School Bus program, through private donations or through enrollment in the Ebby Home Rebate program, which benefits cleaner air every time a participant buys or sells a home - no matter where in the world it is. We have always been focused on service and investing in the communities in which we live and work.  It is not only our responsibility, but our duty to give back."

      Greene said, "By working together with all levels of government and local businesses, we have created an unprecedented partnership to benefit Texas school children. SECO has a strong partner in the North Central Texas Council of Governments, which has shown its leadership today by stepping forward to manage the Dallas/Fort Worth area Adopt-A-School Bus program.  I applaud Ebby Halliday, REALTORS for initiating its remarkable rebate program and for extending a challenge to other businesses."

      Clean School Bus USA is a public-private environmental partnership that seeks to reduce children's exposure to air pollution from diesel school buses.  The program emphasizes three ways to reduce emissions: eliminating unnecessary school bus idling, retrofitting buses to use cleaner fuels and better emission control equipment, and replacing the oldest school buses with less polluting new buses.

      More information is available on the Internet at the following Websites.
- Clean School Bus USA: https://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/
- Adopt-A-School Bus: http://www.adopt-a-schoolbus.org/
- Ebby Home Rebate: http://bus.ebbyhomerebate.com/
- NCTCOG: http://www.nctcog.org