Arizona school districts seeking to replace their fleet of aging buses may be the recipients of $59 million. That money was awarded to the state as a result of a national lawsuit against Volkswagen that was settled last year.

Gov. Doug Ducey’s press aide, Daniel Scarpinato, says the cash isn’t unrestricted, and it must be spent on projects that reduce emissions. 

“He [Ducey] wants to see as much of the dollars get to our K-12 system as possible, and one need we know exists is that we have aging school buses and that there are buses that need to and are going to need to be replaced," Scarpinato said.

Scarpinato said what Ducey finally decides will become part of the budget he proposes to lawmakers in January. But he said it's not yet clear whether Ducey needs legislative approval to allocate the funds or is empowered to divide them up on his own.