Leon County is “growing green,” and on Thursday, Jan. 31, the Board of County Commissioners and the School District unveiled a new fleet of hybrid vehicles for the drivers education program. Several of the vehicles were on display, and instructors and students were on-hand to give demonstrations at the Godby High School driving range.

The Leon County Board of County Commissioners funded the Leon County School District for the purchase of six hybrid vehicles for the drivers education program. Now, students at each of Leon County’s five high schools will learn to drive using a Toyota Prius, which has an Environmental Protection Agency-estimated city/highway gas mileage of 55 miles per gallon.

The program is funded by those Leon County drivers who might need a little more drivers education themselves. Through an ordinance passed by the Leon County Board of County Commissioners in 2002, three dollars of each civil traffic penalty go towards the expanded drivers education program, which is in accordance with the Dori Slosberg Driver Education Safety Act. This year’s funding of $230,000 includes the salary needs of one full-time and one part-time drivers education instructor, as well as the purchase of the hybrid vehicles.

The use of the hybrid vehicles in Leon County high schools is part of a larger, countywide effort called “Leon County Growing Green,” an initiative of the Board of County Commissioners to encourage and implement ‘greener’ living in the community. At the Jan. 31 event, the Board also revealed the new “Leon County Growing Green” logo.