If they issued a letter grade, Mid-Missouri public schools' buses would earn an A for passing the state Highway Patrol's bus safety inspections this spring.
Jefferson City's 74 buses had 69 passing (93.2 percent), with four defective and one taken out of service.
Of the 778 buses inspected in 29 districts based in 10 counties, 721 buses - 92.67 percent of the total - passed the patrol's initial inspection. Also, 13 of those districts had a 100 percent passing rate for the buses in their district.
The state Elementary and Secondary Education department also operates four schools in Mid-Missouri for people with disabilities: the Missouri School for the Deaf, Fulton; H. Kenneth Kirchner State School for the Disabled, Jefferson City; Dogwood Hills State School, Eldon; and Delmar Cobble State School, Columbia.
Their 25 buses also were included in the inspection, with 20 passing on the initial check.
The patrol's inspection had three results: approved, defective and out of service.
A patrol news release last week said buses labeled as "defective" had one or more defective items which posed no threat to the safety of students, and were allowed to continue in operation while the problems were repaired.
Districts had 10 days to make those repairs and have the buses re-inspected by the patrol's motor vehicle inspection personnel.
Those buses taken out of service had one or more defective items "which may compromise the safe transportation of students."
The patrol ordered the districts not to use those buses to carry students until after the repairs were made and the bus passed a second inspection - and gave the districts 10 days to make those repairs, or be reported to DESE officials.
Among the 29 Mid-Missouri districts, 37 (4.76 percent) of the 778 buses inspected were labeled as defective.
Only 20 buses (2.57 percent) were ordered out of service.
Of the 25 special schools' buses, five (20 percent) were rated as defective - and all five served the Cobble State School in Columbia. None had to be removed from service.
Including the special schools, 16 of the 34 school districts or special buildings had 100 percent ratings: Eugene R-5, South Callaway R-2/Mokane, New Bloomfield R-3, Southern Boone R-1/Ashland, California R-1, Clarksburg C-2, Latham R-5, Tipton R-6, Jamestown C-1, School of the Osage, Iberia R-5, Versailles R-2, Camdenton R-3, Hermann R-1, Missouri School for the Deaf and the Kirchner and Dogwood Hills state schools.
Of the region's districts with the most buses, Camdenton's 75-bus fleet had a 100 percent passing rate.
Columbia has 213 buses, and 195 (91.5 percent) passed on the initial inspection. A dozen were labeled defective and six (2.8 percent of the total) were taken out-of-service until repairs were made.
"Transporting students safely is a priority for school districts, contracting agencies, and the Patrol," Col. Bret Johnson, the new superintendent, said in a news release. "The day-to-day maintenance of school bus fleets brings many challenges, and the public should be pleased with the 2015 statewide results of the annual school bus inspection.
"Our children deserve the safest transportation possible. The positive working relationship that exists among the agencies involved in this program - the Patrol, Missouri's school districts and contracting agencies - is directly responsible for the success of the annual school bus inspection program."
Statewide, the patrol inspected a total of 11,986 school buses between Feb. 2 and May 15 - with 10,579 (88.3 percent) passing on the initial inspection.
Another 1,150 buses (9.59 percent) were identified as defective.
Also, statewide, 257 buses (2.14 percent) were taken out of service.
A total of 291 Missouri school districts earned the patrol's "Total Fleet Excellence Award," for an approval rating of 90 percent or higher with no buses placed out-of-service.
That includes the 16 Mid-Missouri districts with 100 percent ratings, plus the Eldon (93.3 percent approved buses) and Belle (92.9 percent approved) districts.
During the 2015-16 school year, the patrol said, a total of 5,758 buses in these award-winning fleets will be allowed to display the Total Fleet Excellence sticker in the lower corner of the first window on the passenger-entry side of the bus.