AWARDS EN ROUTE — Republic, Ash Grove school districts to receive recognition for excellence in student transportation

Two local school districts qualified for the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s (MSHP) Total Fleet Excellence Award, according to the results from the MSHP’s 2019 School Bus Inspection. Republic R-3 and Ash Grove R-4 both had more than 90-percent of the buses which transport their students rated as “approved” by the highway patrol, making them eligible for the award.
Statewide, the MSHP inspected the state’s nearly 12,000 school buses and rated them as “approved,” “defective” or “out-of-service.” According to a press release from the MSHP, buses with the “approved rating were found to have no defective items. Buses with at least one defective item but which did not constitute an immediate danger were rated as “defective,” and buses with a defective item which did constitute an immediate danger were rated as “out-of-service.”
Republic has 56 buses in service; 55 of them, or 98.2-percent, were rated as “approved,” and one was rated “out-of-service.” Josey McPhail, the district’s director of communications, described the problem with the one bus as a “minor infraction” which she stated was “fixed immediately on site.”
“Getting students to and from school safely is a top priority for us,” she said. “To do that, we work diligently to make sure our bus fleet is in top condition.”
Ash Grove has 16 buses, and 15 of them, or 93.8-percent, were rated as “approved,” and one was rated as “defective.”
In a statement, Dr. Aaron Gerla, superintendent of Ash Grove schools, praised the school employees responsible for the district’s rating.
“Dean Elliott and our bus drivers do a great job maintaining our buses throughout the year,” he said. “We appreciate all of their hard work having the buses in great shape for the benefit of our students.”
ly missed out on receiving the award. Only one of the district’s buses was rated as “defective,” but the district only has six buses. As a result, the district received an “approved” rating of 83.3-percent.
Willard did not fare so well in the inspection. According to the MSHP’s inspection results, 40 out of the district’s 51 buses, or 78.4-percent, were rated as “approved,” four were rated as “defective,” and seven were rated as “out-of-service.”
However, Whitney Burrell, director of communications for the Willard School District, said she had received information from Dr. Derrick Hutsell, assistant superintendent of schools, that the issues with the buses have been resolved and all of the district’s buses are operational.
“There were (seven) buses that had extremely minor issues during the morning inspection, fixed by our mechanics that same day, and re-inspected in the afternoon,” she said. “All passed the afternoon inspection and are in service. Therefore, all of our buses are currently in service and regular summer maintenance is taking place as we prepare for students in the fall.”
According to the MSHP’s press release, school buses which are rated as “defective” can still be used to transport students until repairs are made. Buses rated as “out-of-service” must be repaired, re-inspected and then put back into service by MHSP motor vehicle inspection personnel before they can be used to transport students again.
School districts are allowed 10 days after the initial inspection to repair the identified defects on the buses before they are re-inspected by MHSP motor vehicle inspection personnel.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s inspection report can be viewed at https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/PatrolDivisions/DVSD/MVI/index....