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Fw: [EXTERNAL]2023 EPA Clean School Bus Rebate Application - Selected for Funding, Rebate ID
023266

From Raymond Stanley (Dept-Transportation) <raymond_e_stanley@dekalbschoolsga.org>
Date Thu 10/3/2024 2:19 PM
To    Kelly Brown (Division Of Finance) <Kelly_M_Brown@dekalbschoolsga.org>
Cc    MARCIA OGLESBY (GRANTS & PARTNERSHIPS) <marcia_oglesby@dekalbschoolsga.org>


Hello Ms. Brown,

I think this is the award email we received for the EPA Clean School Bus Rebate grant. (Please see the
original email below)

Dr. Oglesby, please confirm if this is correct.




From: MARCIA OGLESBY (GRANTS & PARTNERSHIPS) <marcia_oglesby@dekalbschoolsga.org>
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2024 12:03 PM
To: Raymond Stanley (Dept-Transportation) <raymond_e_stanley@dekalbschoolsga.org>; Bernando Brown (Dept-
Transportation) <Bernando_Brown@dekalbschoolsga.org>
Cc: Cedric Burse (Fleet Services) <Cedric_Burse@dekalbschoolsga.org>; Audrey Burns (Fleet Services)
<Audrey_Burns@dekalbschoolsga.org>; LIBRITTA ANDERSON (GRANTS & PARTNERSHIPS)
<Libritta_Anderson@dekalbschoolsga.org>; DARIUS WILLIAMS (GRANTS & PARTNERSHIPS)
<Darius_Williams@dekalbschoolsga.org>
Subject: Fw: [EXTERNAL]2023 EPA Clean School Bus Rebate Application - Selected for Funding, Rebate ID 023266
Good afternoon,

  Please see the email below regarding the Clean School Bus Rebate award.

Respectfully,


Dr. Marcia Oglesby │Director, Grants and Partnerships

DeKalb County School District │ Administrative & Instructional Complex
1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard│ Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083
(O) 678.676.0375 │ Division of Community Engagement & Innovative Partnerships




From: noreply@salesforce.com <noreply@salesforce.com> on behalf of Clean School Bus Rebates
<cleanschoolbus@epa.gov>
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2024 11:54 AM
To: MARCIA OGLESBY (GRANTS & PARTNERSHIPS) <marcia_oglesby@dekalbschoolsga.org>; Cedric Burse (Fleet
Services) <Cedric_Burse@dekalbschoolsga.org>; Audrey Burns (Fleet Services)
<Audrey_Burns@dekalbschoolsga.org>
Subject: [EXTERNAL]2023 EPA Clean School Bus Rebate Application - Selected for Funding, Rebate ID 023266


ALERT/ATTENTION: This email originated from outside the DeKalb County School District. Do not
click links, open attachments or reply unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Please use the Junk/Phishing reporting feature in your Outlook Email to report any suspicious
emails so that an investigation can be started if needed.
7/26/2024

Cedric Burse
DEKALB COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
1701 MOUNTAIN INDUSTRIAL BLVD
STONE MOUNTAIN, GA 30083-1027



Dear Cedric Burse,

Congratulations! The application with Rebate ID 023266 submitted to the Environmental Protection
Agency’s (EPA) 2023 Clean School Bus (CSB) Rebates for DEKALB COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION has
been selected for funding. $8,725,000 has been reserved for your use in this program to replace 25
bus(es)1.

These reserved funds include $8,725,000 for 25 new electric bus(es), eligible charging infrastructure,
and other eligible expenses.
The replacement bus(es) must serve DeKalb County at 3770 N Decatur Rd, Decatur, GA 30032 for at
least 5 years from the time of delivery. As a selectee, you may now move on to the next step in the
rebate process.

Please carefully review the 2023 CSB Rebates Program Guide for detailed information and
requirements for each step of the rebate process, including Section 8 that covers the next form to be
submitted, the Payment Request Form. It is also critical that you review the Terms and Conditions in
Appendix A that govern the rebate program. When submitting the application, a representative of
your organization certified that they had read and agreed to comply with the requirements and Terms
and Conditions of the Program Guide. Additionally, please review the two additional Terms and
Conditions in Appendix A.1 at the bottom of this letter, which are also included in the May 2024
version of the 2023 CSB Rebates Program Guide. Your Payment Request Form will require you to
certify that you have read and agree to comply with all requirements and terms and conditions
contained in the 2023 CSB Rebates Program Guide (dated May 2024) .

As a selectee, you must complete the following summarized steps in the allotted time to receive your
rebate payment. To complete the steps below, selectees must continue to be actively registered in the
System for Award Management (SAM) throughout the project period. The status your rebate
application is shown in the Applicant Dashboard, however all assistance related to SAM must be
directed to the Federal Service Desk.

Failure to submit all the required forms and documentation or to complete the required work by the
deadlines stated below will result in the forfeiting of funds. In addition, when completing all rebate
forms, we remind you that knowingly making materially false statements or falsifying or concealing a
material fact is a felony, which may result in fines or up to five years imprisonment, per 18 U.S.C. §
1001.

      Selectees must submit an online Payment Request Form (PRF) that includes an attached scan
      of the order documents (purchase order(s), sales order(s), or approved quote(s)) as applicable
      for the new school buses and, if applicable, eligible charging infrastructure and other eligible
      expenses by November 29, 2024. Documentation to attach to the PRF includes purchase orders
      on school district letterhead with purchaser/vendor signatures OR sales orders on vendor
      letterhead with purchaser/vendor signatures. Approved quotes in lieu purchase or sales orders
      for eligible infrastructure installation costs may be included in documentation submitted as well.
      The date of the order document cannot pre-date the selection notification date and must be
      dated within 45 days of the initial PRF submission2. The order document must clearly show a
      transaction agreed upon between the organization that will own the replacement bus and a
      school bus equipment dealer3. Please refer to Section 8 of the Program Guide for more details
      on what information must be included in each order document.

      Be advised, the funding amount noted at the top of this letter are maximum funding amounts;
      however, EPA will only disburse funds based on actual bus and charging infrastructure costs
      supported by the order document(s), subject to the per bus funding limits detailed in Section 4
      of the Program Guide. The EPA anticipates disbursing funds within approximately 60 days of the
      approval of a complete Payment Request Form. In many cases, this will result in a selectee
      receiving funds in advance of the delivery of the bus and charging infrastructure.

      Selectees should work with their vendors to spend EPA funds on eligible project expenses, as
      described in Section 3 of the Program Guide, as expeditiously as possible after receiving funds
       from EPA; however, if there is an extended period of time between receiving EPA funds and
       spending funds, then selectees must adhere to the requirements in Appendix A.1 of the Program
       Guide (included further below for reference).

       Your organization must submit a Close Out Form by May 31, 2026, that demonstrates that new
       buses were delivered and eligible charging infrastructure was delivered and installed. The Close
       Out form also requires documentation that existing buses were scrapped or, for vehicle model
       year 2011 and newer, documentation that the existing 2011 and newer buses were scrapped,
       sold, or donated. Selectees are expected to comply with site visit requests, recordkeeping
       requirements, and document requests for five years from the date of replacement bus delivery,
       or risk cancellation of an active rebate application (if still open) or other enforcement action.
       Please review Sections 9 and 10, as well as the terms and conditions in Appendix A of the
       Program Guide for more information.

Ninety (90) days before the original deadline, your organization can request extensions to the Payment
Request Form and Close Out Form deadlines through the CSB Rebate Forms Online Portal. The EPA will
review these requests on a case-by-case basis and may grant extensions if sufficient justification is
provided.

Resources to assist your organization in successfully replacing existing school buses with new, cleaner
buses are available on our website. These resources include:

       2023 Rebates Next Steps Flyer
       Electric School Bus Transition Planning Resource
       Coordinating with Electric Utility Partners Resource
       Workforce Planning Recommendations and Resources
       Resources to Engage Your Community

You can also reach out to CleanSchoolBus@epa.gov if you have programmatic questions or
CleanSchoolBusTA@nrel.gov if you have any technical assistance questions. The technical assistance
helpline is staffed by the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (JOET), whom the EPA has
partnered with to provide FREE technical assistance to its selectees, including information and tools
needed to successfully plan and deploy clean school buses and infrastructure. JOET has expertise in a
wide range of clean school bus deployment topics, such as electric bus basics, charging equipment,
utility connections, and operational considerations like routing and maintenance. We encourage you
to reach out to JOET for all of your technical questions.

Thank you for your participation in the 2023 CSB Rebates. We look forward to working with you in
adding these clean school buses to your student transportation service.

Sincerely,

Karl J. Simon, Director
Transportation and Climate Division
Office of Transportation and Air Quality

1 NOTE – EPA used the number of buses listed on the rebate application as the number of requested buses rather than

the number of buses listed in the Utility Partnership Template, in the event that the numbers differed. All selectees
planning to purchase electric buses are encouraged to continue to work with their utility to ensure clarity on project
plans, including number of buses.
2 Selectees must adhere to state and local funding requirements regarding the solicitation and collection of bids

necessary to submit a purchase order document. EPA will not be involved in this process.
3 EPA is not responsible for the business or contractual agreements between school districts and bus providers; buses

must serve the same district for 5 years (except as noted in Section 2 for a change in contract provider).




Appendix A.1

Consistent with the eligible requirements for new replacement buses, school districts and supervisory
administrative units (i.e., entities that are responsible for the purchase of buses or providing bus
service for multiple smaller sub-units of schools or school districts) that are awarded funding based on
qualifying for prioritization as high-need under the definition of "very large school district" (i.e., the
school district or supervisory administrative unit does not have SAIPE data and meets the threshold for
"very large school district" defined in the self-certification document), must ensure that buses
purchased with EPA funds continue to primarily serve the prioritized school district(s), as defined in the
documentation submitted to verify self-certification, for at least five years.

As previously stated, selectees should work with their vendors to spend EPA funds on eligible project
expenses, as described in Section 3 of the Program Guide, as expeditiously as possible after receiving
funds from EPA; however if there is an extended period of time between receiving EPA funds and
spending those funds, then selectees must adhere to the following requirements. Specifically, selectees
must follow proper financial management practices to ensure that these funds are only used for
eligible expenses and should keep these EPA funds separate from other funds the selectee might have
for general expenses. If any interest is earned on EPA funds, then that interest must be returned to the
federal government, in accordance with instructions to be provided by the EPA. If a selectee chooses
to withdraw from the program, then they must return all awarded funds and any interest earned on
those funds. The process for reimbursing funds, including any interest earned, will be initiated through
completing the Close Out Form for the project as part of the withdrawal process; the EPA will provide
additional information on the reimbursement process prior to Close Out Form submission.