The Missouri State Highway Patrol has released the results of its 2017 school bus inspection. The Springfield Public School District fared well with all buses passing inspection.
In other area districts: Willard and Joplin each had only one bus found to be defective; Ava had 11; Marshfield had three; Fair Grove had 2 defective buses with one taken out of service; four of Sparta’s 15 buses presented for inspection were defective with three taken out of service.
A total of 12,047 school buses across the state was inspected by MSHP staff between February 2 and May 5, 2017. Of those, 90.24% were approved with no defective items found.
During the annual school inspection, buses found to have no defective items are rated as "approved.” Buses having one or more defective items which do not constitute an immediate danger are rated as "defective.” Buses with any defective items which constitute an immediate danger are rated as "out-of-service.”
Buses rated as "defective" may continue to be used to transport students until the repairs are made. School districts have 10 days after the initial inspection to repair defects before being re-inspected. Buses rated as "out-of-service" must be repaired, re-inspected and placed back into service by Highway Patrol motor vehicle inspection personnel before they can be used to transport students. Buses not presented for re-inspection within the required 10-day period are reported to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Results of the 2017 annual school bus inspection results:
Buses rated as "approved" upon initial inspection: 10,871
Buses rated as "defective" upon initial inspection: 925
Buses rated as "out-of-service" upon initial inspection: 251
