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CVSD rethinks electric bus program
OCTOBER 23, 2025
Maintenance-related downtime stresses the system
Maintenance problems with six electric buses that were added to the Champlain Valley School District fleet this fall and stationed at Allen Brook School have district administrators rethinking their
Local students outpace state in VTCAP tests
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commitment to going electric. In a report to the school board Tuesday, administrators said the new buses “have experienced a high rate of maintenance-related downtime during the first two months of use.” Their time off the road has caused bus availability shortages and stressed the district’s busing system, administrators said.
Consequently, the district’s next purchase of buses — two new ones for next school year — will be non-electric “to stabilize our fleet while the reliability of electric options improves.” The introduction of electric school buses at CVSD began with a pilot program in 2021. CVSD was one of three Vermont school
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districts to receive two e-buses in a state-run grant program funded through a settlement with Volkswagon after the carmaker was found to be rigging federal emissions tests. The program was a test of reliability, especially as it relates to e-bus performance in the cold. The two electrics, which were stationed at Allen Brook,
see BUSES page 7
‘No Kings’ in Williston Protesters line Route 2 on Saturday in Williston as part of nationwide ‘No Kings’ rallies against Trump administration policies. For statewide coverage, see pages 8-12.
BY JASON STARR Observer staff Standardized test results from last school year in math, literacy and science are trickling out. Last Thursday, the Vermont Agency of Education released statewide results of last year’s Vermont Common Assessment Program (VTCAP) tests, administered to students in grades 3-9 each spring. The results show that an average of 39 percent of Vermont students in grades 3-9 tested proficient in math; an average of 55 percent tested proficient in literacy; and an average of 43 percent tested proficient in science. School- and district-level results will be released publicly later this fall, the Agency of Education said, but they have already been given to school administrators. Individual student results were shared with families in the spring. Champlain Valley School District Director of Learning and Innovation Sarah Crum presented the district’s results to the school see TESTS page 7
performed well enough for the district to put in for an order of six new buses in 2024. At the time, CVSD Chief Operations Officer Gary Marckres said the district planned to eventually convert half of its 60-bus fleet to electrics. The six new buses were
OBSERVER PHOTO BY AL FREY
Chavarria appointed to planning commission
Wilmer Chavarria says he doesn’t have time to volunteer as a local land use planner. And as superintendent of the Winooski School District and a native of Nicaragua who was detained without cause at an airport by federal agents in July — an incident he described as terrifying in news reports at the time — one could wonder how he would find the bandwidth. Nonetheless, Chavarria, a resident of Williston for the past three years, applied and was appointed Tuesday to the Williston
Planning Commission. In an interview with the selectboard, he said he was recruited by a fellow citizen for the post. “I don’t have time to be doing this, but I really want to do it because it is sort of like a duty that I think everybody should consider, to serve locally in governance and planning,” he said. He views the position as an opportunity to learn about subjects he is not an expert in. “I think, especially at the beginning, there will be quite of bit of learning to do on my end
and that is exciting,” he said. “Eventually that knowledge will be put to good use because hopefully I can do this for the long-term.” Chavarria said he’s scanned the new Town Plan adopted earlier this year as well as notes from past planning commission meetings, noting a diversity of opinions, yet a cohesive vision for the town’s future. The selectboard unanimously appointed Chavarria to a term that expires in June 2026. — Jason Starr
Wilmer Chavarria VTDIGGER FILE PHOTO
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