WARWICK — In just a few weeks, a new school bus will be on the roads of Warwick.

That bus, though, is not just any yellow school bus — it will be a blue Kia EV9 Wind adorned with the Warwick Community School & District’s logo, perhaps the first fully electric school transportation vehicle in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region.

The bus cost around $60,000 and, according to Town Coordinator David Young, was paid for through authorized borrowing and will be reimbursed through stabilization funds.

Warwick School Committee Vice Chair Diana Noble, who spearheaded the initiative to bring the van to the school alongside Director of Operations Jessica Marshall, said the district currently contracts with F.M. Kuzmeskus to bring its approximately 30 students to and from the elementary school with a single bus.

A second vehicle, she added, would cut down on the number of trips needed to bring all the students to school, as well as the amount of time teachers and school staff are supervising students who are waiting for the bus.

Additionally, when Warwick was a member of the Pioneer Valley Regional School District, Pioneer would send two buses to the town, due to how far spread out students were geographically, which strained the budget because regional school district transportation is expensive. If Pioneer had sent only one bus, Noble said, then students could have possibly been subjected to bus rides more than an hour long.

“I was hoping, as we were opening our new school, to solve both of those problems. … We’re trying to maximize the ability of students to arrive at school ready to learn, which in my mind, means shorter bus rides,” Noble said of expensive transportation and long rides. “Warwick is also interested in getting our town prepared for the future and as sustainable as possible.”

The van can fit six students, as well as the driver, and meets the state’s “7D” regulations for student transportation. Noble noted the EV9 can get up to 300 miles on a full charge — and 200 to 250 on extremely cold days — meaning it won’t need to be charged every day.

Warwick School District Superintendent Carole Learned-Miller said the vehicle ties into the district’s goals of environmental stewardship, all while ensuring students can arrive at school in a timely manner.

“We are deeply grateful to have a new district bus that will help us make our bus routes more efficient,” Learned-Miller said. “We are especially pleased that our bus is electric and can help us further our mission of being a nature-centered school and district, where students and staff learn together about our environment and actively work to protect it.”

In a rural town like Warwick, a smaller vehicle also just makes sense to have on hand.

“Some of our roads just aren’t great for a full-size or a half-size regular school bus, so having something more flexible is extremely helpful,” Noble said, adding that there are no gas stations in Warwick, but there are EV chargers, meaning drivers won’t need extra time to leave town and fuel up. “I think it’s a fantastic vehicle. I was thrilled to find it coming on the market right when we were looking.”

While the school has purchased this van, it will still work with F.M. Kuzmeskus and its “fantastic” staff, said Noble. The EV9, which will be driven by trained and certified school staff, also will be available as a field trip vehicle.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.