This Dec. 8, 2023, photo shows three of the four electric buses in Winthrop Public Schools’ fleet. The buses have been sidelined as they wait for a recalled part to arrive. Once that part is installed, the buses will be tested for two weeks before they are used to transport students. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal file photo

WINTHROP — Lion Electric has recalled a part on its electric school buses, four of which are stationed at the Winthrop Public Schools.

The school buses were awarded to the schools through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program and almost immediately started to show issues before they were temporarily taken off the road by the Maine Department of Education due to defects.

The recall, issued July 29,  is for the buses’ CAN Connector, which according to Lion Electric is subject to water leaking into the system. Water leakage into the CAN Connector can cause a short-circuit that could lead to a loss of communication with the high-voltage battery and deactivation of the high-voltage distribution. If that happens, it leads to the loss of steering assistance and compromises the vehicle’s braking system.

“Once the part has arrived, we are going to test drive them and once it’s installed, we are going to drive the buses for two weeks out of extreme caution before we put them back on the road with students on them,” Foley said Thursday.

Foley told the school board that the parts to fix the four vehicles were expected to arrive Monday or Tuesday, but had not arrived as of Thursday morning.

“We have enough other buses in the fleet,” Foley said, so transportation will not be disrupted as the buses are tested.

In her first two weeks with the school district after Jim Hodgkin’s resignation, Foley had to catch up and create a plan of action for the electric school buses.

This is the second recall since the school district received the buses last year and by terms of the grant, Winthrop is required to have the buses for five years. Other school districts in Maine have Lion Electric School buses, including the Yarmouth Public Schools, and have also reported problems.

Foley consulted with the Yarmouth Public Schools’ superintendent of schools, who said they do not drive the buses whenever an error is displayed.

“I have expressed a lot of concern about the buses and the idea of having them pass the inspection and then the two-week driving period makes me feel so much better,” School Board Member Monika McLaughlin said.