SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THE
CITY OF PONTIACThe School District of the Cityof Pontiac Leverages Sequential
Charging to DCFC Performanceand EPA Funding
July2023

An in-depth program perspective from Kelley Williams,
The School District of the City of Pontiac Superintendent
The School District of the City of Pontiac partnered with BorgWarner to provide proprietary
sequential charging with its direct current fast chargers (DCFC) for the district’s fleet of 25
IC electric school buses. The infrastructure development is the first for BorgWarner thattakes advantage of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus Program
electrification funding. The School District of the City of Pontiac met the EPA requirements as aprioritized community and received $20,000 per power dispenser, totaling $500,000 in fundingfor electric vehicle supply equipment hardware and installation costs, as well as $9,375,000 for theelectric buses themselves. Additional funding for infrastructure is being provided by DTE Energy’seFleet Charger Rebate program.
“We currently have about 50 buses supporting
the district, running approximately 44 routes daily.
We are transitioning 25 of those to electric busesover the coming months using the EPA funds, andadditional funding from DTE to build out the electric
infrastructure to support those buses. We will actively
participate in the next rounds of EPA Clean School
Bus grants to transition the majority of the fleet in
the near future,” said Kelley Williams, Superintendent
School District of the City of Pontiac. “Additionally,the district has added a couple of electric passengervans and just submitted an order for two electriccargo vans. We have eight publicly accessible electricvehicle charging stations located throughout thedistrict as well.” BorgWarner announced a program
win to provide 60kW and 125kW DCFCs to The
School District of the City of Pontiac in support oftheir 25 electric IC school buses.

EPA Clean School Bus Program“Without the EPA Clean School Bus program, Pontiac
Schools would not have been able to take such alarge step into electrifying our bus fleet,” said Mrs.
Williams. “We are honored to have been chosen as
the largest recipient of this grant in Michigan, and theonly district in Oakland County. This will be a gamechanger for our fleet and ability to transport ourstudents.”

Sequential Charging Technology Maximizes EPA Per-Port Funding
The deployment includes BorgWarner’s 60kW and 125kW DCFCs and solidifies The School District of
the City of Pontiac as the first school district to leverage BorgWarner’s proprietary sequential charging
technology, which allows up to five dispensers to charge from a single public charging station (PCS).
Installing multiple dispensers per power control system greatly reduces the initial investment and lowers
installation costs while providing the ability to charge at DCFC levels.

Managed by First Student
The School District of the City of Pontiac has a contract with First Student, a turnkey student
transportation provider that handles all operational logistics from driving and charging to maintenance.
First Student is also known for advancing market innovations and currently has two vehicle-togrid (V2G) pilots. “The School District of the City of Pontiac transitioned to First Student as ourtransportation partner for the 2022-2023 school year,” explained Mrs. Williams. “Our experiencehas been fantastic, and we are appreciative of their knowledge and experience in electric buses andoperations.”

Michigan-Made Chargers“The School District of the City of Pontiac selected BorgWarner DC Fast Chargers because they are
manufactured locally in Michigan, and they are an eligible vendor for the district to receive funding
from DTE’s eFleet Charger Rebate program,” explained Mrs. Williams. “BorgWarner DC Fast Chargers
align with the district’s vision to implement V2G in the near future.”

Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Program-Ready
The BorgWarner EV chargers selected for the program are the only UL1741SA-certified DCFC
solution on the market, making them vehicle-to-grid (V2G) ready and upgradeable for bidirectional
applications. With the V2G capabilities of BorgWarner’s charging technology, future programs withthe school district could include sending energy from bus batteries back to utilities or buildings during
times of peak demand, supporting the power grid and enabling revenue-making opportunities. The
district expects to participate in a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) program as soon as the utility company’s
infrastructure in our location is ready to accept excess energy back to the grid. We are very excited toengage with that technology and capabilities.
“The School District of the City of Pontiac currently serves approximately 4,000 students from Pre-K
through 12th grade. The school bus electrification program will impact students district wide, as thenew buses will support numerous routes throughout our servicing area,” said Mrs. Williams. “Being able
to provide a better transportation experience to our students is paramount in our mission. By creating
zero emissions, reducing the noise level of the bus, and providing a comfortable ride, our students
should arrive at school happier and healthier, ready to engage in the learning environment.

About Mrs. Kelley Williams, Superintendent of Pontiac School District
Mrs. Williams was selected by the Pontiac Board of Education as Superintendent in May 2013. Prior
to that she was the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction (since 2010); elementary
curriculum supervisor (2008-2010); principal at Longfellow Elementary (2004-2007); assistantprincipal at Lincoln Middle School (2002 to 2004); and elementary teacher at Mark Twain Elementary(1995 to 2001).
Mrs. Williams received her Master’s in Curriculum, Instruction andLeadership at Oakland University and her Michigan Administrative
Certification in 2009.
The passion Mrs. Kelley Williams has for improving education for all
children is rooted in her own childhood experience when her teacher
and parents inspired her to pursue a college degree in Early Childhood
Education at Clark Atlanta University. Early in her career, Mrs. Williams
began teaching at the elementary and middle school levels in Pontiac
School District. Her dedication to students and her peers led her toadministrative roles within Pontiac School District – first as principal,
then as the curriculum supervisor, assistant superintendent and mostrecently as superintendent. Always committed to improving learning,providing inspiration and making a positive difference in students’
lives has been her mantra.
Mrs. Williams believes in a child-first improvement approach by increasing efficiency and performance,
eliminating ineffective programs and making focused decisions. Her ability to motivate educators togrow in skills, collaborate with her team and Board members exhibits the visionary leadership she has
demonstrated in her years serving in the Pontiac School District. She is focused and driven to continue
to improve the Pontiac School District to ensure academic success for all students.

About The School District of the City of Pontiac
For more information about The School District of the City of Pontiac, contact Heidi Hedquist,(248) 535-7419, heidi.hedquist@pontiacschools.org.

About BorgWarner
For more than 130 years, BorgWarner has been a transformative global product leader bringing
successful mobility innovation to market. Today, we’re accelerating the world’s transition toeMobility – to help build a cleaner, healthier, safer future for all.
Contact us for more information: chargers-usa@borgwarner.com

borgwarner.com