• Milwaukee Public Schools will begin transporting students on 50 new electric buses this fall.
• The district plans to add another 100 electric buses over the next three years.
• Funding comes from federal pandemic relief aid and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants.
• Officials aim to reduce costs, lower carbon emissions, and help decrease childhood asthma rates.

Beginning this fall, thousands of students will catch rides to and from Milwaukee Public Schools by electric bus.

At an event June 8, MPS unveiled the arrival of the new electric buses, 50 of which will transport about 6,000 students starting this September. MPS officials said its transportation partners will add another 100 electric buses to service by the 2028-29 school year.

Once all 150 electric buses are on the road, about 22% of buses used to transport MPS students will be electric, according to figures provided by David Fifarek, MPS senior director of transportation services.

The initiative is fully funded through federal pandemic relief aid and about $40 million in grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a district spokesperson said. The district’s transportation providers are constructing charging infrastructure and will cover the cost of electricity, which district leaders said will help MPS save money.

MPS officials said the initiative is meant to cut costs amid rising fuel prices and to help reduce the city’s childhood asthma rates. The electric buses will additionally push MPS closer toward achieving its goal of reducing the district’s carbon emissions by 45% over the next four years, said Superintendent Brenda Cassellius.

According to the EPA, diesel exhaust is a significant contributor to climate change, as well as childhood asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

In 2024, Milwaukee had the nation’s highest rate of asthma-related emergency department visits, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America reported. Across the U.S., public school children are about twice as likely to have asthma as their school-aged peers.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are particularly studying the link between air pollution and asthma-related visits to school nurses in MPS.

Cassellius said each electric bus will replace a diesel bus, resulting in “fewer emissions at bus stops, near our schools and in the communities our families call home.”

Ben Schutzman, CEO of Highland Electric Fleets, which provides the vehicles, said “replacing just five diesel school buses with electric buses can reduce the risk of pediatric asthma for approximately 1,500 students.”

“In a city where asthma remains a huge concern, that is a very meaningful step forward,” Cassellius said.

There are also financial benefits as MPS seeks to tighten its budget amid broader fiscal challenges, Cassellius added. With fuel prices soaring nationwide, school districts have incurred extra transportation costs.

From March to June, the district said in a statement, MPS spent about $800,000 in diesel surcharges, which are additional fees that bus contractors charge districts to offset higher gas prices.

“That kind of volatility makes it harder to budget and harder to invest where it matters most,” Cassellius said. “This initiative is helping us change that and will allow us to bring more stability to our transportation costs.”

At a School Board meeting in May, MPS interim Chief Operating Officer Michael Turza said the district expects to save money by making the switch, with daily operating costs decreasing because electric buses do not rely on fuel.

The district does not own the buses. MPS Chief Financial Officer Aycha Sawa told board members that the district’s bus vendors instead purchase the buses, and MPS reimburses them under the federal grant.

Contractors who receive the funding must operate in the district for five years, Fifarek said. The companies are also installing charging infrastructure at local bus terminals, which he said creates a long-term investment that could support further expansion of electric buses.

MPS now joins a growing number of school districts in Wisconsin and across the country that are transitioning to electric transportation.

Fifarek said MPS may seek additional EPA grants to increase the number of electric buses in the future.

Kayla Huynh covers K-12 education, teachers and solutions for the Journal Sentinel. Contact: khuynh@gannett.com. Follow her on X: @_kaylahuynh.

Ashes, dog stolen in Milwaukee break-in

A Milwaukee woman is asking for help after she said her puppy and a red heart containing her sister’s ashes were stolen during a May 27 apartment break-in.

MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee woman is asking for help after she said someone broke into her apartment and stole several items, including her puppy and her sister’s ashes.

What we know:

The break-in happened May 27 at a first-floor apartment near 45th and Hampton.

Treneicia Baker said she got her puppy to help her grieve after her older sister, Keisha, died of heart failure in early March. Baker said she and her sister lived together and never spent a day apart.

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She said the puppy, a teddy bear bichon, had become a major source of comfort.

“I got her because the house was too quiet. I was lonely,” Baker said. “She kept me company, and she kept my mind at ease when things were rough when I was missing my sister.”

Baker said the person who broke into her apartment stole several items, including a laptop, towels, credit cards, a gaming system and food from her kitchen.

The Milwaukee Police Department said no one is in custody.

What they’re saying:

“They tore up the whole house literally from the front door to the bathroom was tore up,” she said.

But Baker said the biggest losses were her puppy and a red heart containing her sister’s ashes.

“I just want my sister’s ashes back and my puppy,” Baker said. “What would you want with someone’s ashes? That’s irreplaceable. You can’t get that back.”

As Milwaukee police investigate, Baker is asking for help getting back what she says cannot be replaced.

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“It would mean everything to me,” she said. “Literally everything.”

Baker said she believes the break-in was random.

What you can do:

Anyone with any information is asked to contact MPD at 414-935-7360 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-TIPS or use the P3 Tips app. 

One person was injured in a shooting Tuesday morning, June 9, near a day care center and two schools, Milwaukee police said.

The shooting occurred just before 8 a.m. on the 2700 block of North 44th Street. A 31-year-old suffered unspecified injuries in the incident and was transported to a local hospital, police said.

No additional information about the victim was immediately available. Police are seeking unknown suspects.

The location of the shooting is blocks away from Washington High School of Information Technology, Milwaukee Math and Science Academy and Gregory’s Little Helpers child care center.

Washington High School did not go into lockdown, according to a WISN-TV (Channel 12) report. However, principal Jose Frias sent a note to families saying the school was safe and classes would continue normally, the news station reported.

The circumstances leading up to the shooting remain under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Milwaukee Police at (414) 935-7360 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-Tips or P3 Tips.