State Senator Mike McGuire has secured $5 million to replace school buses in California’s rural school districts, with funding from the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Resources Board. Though the details have yet to be hammered out for how and when the $5 million will be distributed, the funds could benefit Shoreline Unified School District, West Marin’s largest district, whose students and parents are spread out over 450 square miles. “Any opportunity to upgrade our equipment at lower or no cost to district is always attractive,” said George Borges, the district’s transportation director. He added that “the overall condition of [existing] buses is fairly good, remarkably, with the way the weather is out here.” The district’s three buses—all from the late ’90s—were retrofitted with particulate filters and scrubbers to reduce diesel emissions paid for by a grant from the Air Resources Board about six years ago. Other school districts in West Marin—Nicasio, Lagunitas and Bolinas-Stinson Union—boast a fleet of only one or two buses, some of which are maintained by Shoreline Unified. California, unlike other states, does not have an official policy that governs when school districts should replace their buses. That means buses can log over 300,000 miles until they break down and must be replaced by a district, which in the case of low-income rural areas can bring a tough financial burden. Drawn from cap-and-trade revenue, the $5 million will be offered through grants for which districts may apply starting in mid-2016. “Our goal is to invest every penny into rural California,” said Senator McGuire, who was elected to Healdsburg Unified School District’s board when he was just 19. “We want to put this money to good use, and we know there is demand.” Senator McGuire’s main aim is to reduce air pollution from aging diesel buses by increasing alternative-engine buses, improving the overall air quality for students who are the most at risk of developing asthma.