The Montgomery County R-II and the Wellsville-Middletown R-I school districts turned in successful results when the state of Missouri released its annual school bus inspections.

Montgomery County had a 92 percent approval rate with just one defective bus and one out-of-service bus, while Wellsville-Middletown had a 75 percent approval rate with two out-of-service buses.

The annual school bus inspection report was released by Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The results were divided into three categories – approved, defective and out-of-service. Almost 90 percent of the buses in the state that were inspected were approved.

“Through the unified effort of Missouri State Highway Patrol personnel and pupil transportation professionals statewide, the successful inspection of 11,360 school buses occurred in accordance with Missouri revised state statutes,” Olson said in a statement. “The Patrol, Missouri schools, and private pupil transportation companies share the common goal of keeping our school children safe while they travel on school buses.”

There were 895 buses that were rated defective – which means one or more issues – upon initial inspection and 410 that were rated out-of-service. Buses that were rated defective must be repaired within 10 days. For out-of-service buses, they must have their components corrected and must be reinspected by state highway patrol personnel.

The R-II school district has 24 buses, with 22 of them being approved. It is the third year in a row the district had an approval rate of 90 percent or above. It scored a 96 in each of the last two years. In 2021, the district scored 83 percent.

R-II superintendent Dr. Tracy Bottoms credits Jerry Schwartz for making sure the school buses run smoothly.

“Jerry does a great job with buses,” Dr. Bottoms said. “Periodically, a bus may have an issue, but he always gets them fixed and reinstated, where they pass inspection. Many years, he has passed 100 percent of his fleet. He and his son-in-law Kevin are constantly inspecting buses to.ensure safety at all levels. The district supports the efforts of Jerry and his team.”

The W-M school-district had six buses passing state inspection with no defective issues. Last year, the district had a 100 percent approval rate.

“We have just eight buses,” said Tiffany Gosseen, who took over W-M district superintendent duties on July 1. “Two of them were off-site in Illinois to get work on some items that were recalled. They counted in the “out of service” category. The other six buses passed with flying colors. As I understand it, the two buses out of the district during that time were reinspected and passed, so 100 percent of our buses were approved.”

Among the items that are looked at during the safety inspection are air pollution, brakes, bumpers, emergency doors and exits, fuel system, mirrors, driver’s seat belt, seats, tires, wheels and windshield wipers. It is required that school buses should be inspected yearly at an official motor vehicle safety inspection station at least two months before the school year begins.