Each morning thousands of Mid-Missouri youngsters ride buses that parents entrust will deliver their children safely to and from school.
A recent report of safety inspections conducted by Highway Patrol Troop F shows parents are right to trust the school bus to safely deliver their child - 86.9 percent of the area's 1,045 school buses passed.
The safety inspectors list each bus as either approved, defective or out of service according to documents attached to the findings. Buses are defective if they have minor issues such as broken headlights or other cosmetic issues. Buses listed as out of service have issues that are more mechanical and may be dangerous for passengers.
South Callaway School District got the green light from inspectors as all of the school district's bus fleet passed. School Superintendent Kevin Hillman said his district's success is a credit to those who work every day with buses.
"No one is walking to school here," Hillman said of his rural school district. "Our school district runs 15 bus routes and our transportation department goes above and beyond with true diligence to ensure the safety of our students and the function of our buses. Our transportation department has high expectations and they exceed them."
Also happy with the results of the inspection was Jefferson City Public Schools spokeswoman Amy Berendzen. Jefferson City's 67 buses were inspected with 61 buses passing and six being listed as defective.
Berendzen these issues were already resolved as of Friday afternoon. The school district is also one of a few in the state to be honored by the Highway Patrol with the Total Fleet Excellence Award. The award requires that fewer than 10 percent of a school district's buses fail inspection.
"First Student Bus Service (Jefferson City's school bus contractor) does a great job of regular maintenance," Berendzen said. "They get our children to school safely through the steady hands of their bus drivers. As a mother of a child who rides the bus every day that means a lot to me."
Cole County R-1 School District in Russellville also received the Total Fleet Excellence Award with 10 buses passing inspection.
Blair Oaks Superintendent Jim Jones said the four buses were sidelined because of an update in emergency lettering requirements.
"For our buses, the factory-issued lettering on the roof hatch is one inch, and new requirements raised the standard to two inches," Jones said. "We also needed to change the phrase from emergency exit to emergency door."
Hillman said the importance of safe transportation to and from school cannot be overlooked.
"The beginning of each school day begins with the school bus ride and each day ends the school bus ride," Hillman said. "Without safe school buses, good transportation programs and outstanding people behind the wheel we couldn't do what we do here."