The St. Joseph School District was one of 281 Missouri school districts to earn the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Total Fleet Excellence Award, through the School Bus Inspection Program.

The award is obtained through an approval rating of 90% or higher with no buses placed out-of-service. The St. Joseph School District earned a 100% approval rating during the inspection of the district’s 101 buses. During the 2018-2019 school year, 6,532 buses throughout the state are eligible to display the Total Fleet Excellence sticker in the lower corner of the first window on the passenger-entry side of the bus.

Colonel Sandra K. Karsten, superintendent of the MSHP, recently announced the results of the annual school bus inspection program.

According to a news release, a total of 12,018 school buses across the state of Missouri were inspected by State Highway Patrol personnel during the Motor Vehicle Inspection Division’s 2018 program. Of all buses inspected, 90.6% were approved by inspection personnel with no defective items noted during 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 a defective item which constitutes an immediate danger are rated as “out-of-service.”

Buses rated as “defective” may continue to be operated for the purpose of transporting students until repair is made. School districts are allowed 10 days following initial inspection to repair identified defects before being re-inspected by Highway Patrol motor vehicle inspection personnel. Buses rated as “out-of-service” must be repaired, re-inspected, and placed back into service by Highway Patrol motor vehicle inspection personnel prior to transporting students. Buses not presented for re-inspection within the required 10-day period are reported to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Click here to view the full inspection results.