Since Ronnie Martin became Poplar Bluff R-1's transportation director in February 2016, the district's annual school bus inspection approval ratings have continued to increase.
Poplar Bluff received a 97.7 percent on 43 buses submitted under the Missouri State Highway Patrol program this year. It is 21 percent higher than 2017, and 32.6 percent higher than 2016.
The district also earned the patrol's Total Fleet Excellence Award, which is given to schools obtaining an approval rating of 90 percent or higher with no buses out of service.
The score is the highest Poplar Bluff R-1 has ever received, to his knowledge, said Martin, who has served as a public school transportation director for 20 years. It is, in his opinion, the direct result of a targeted effort among his staff of drivers and mechanics to ensure every bus is functioning properly and well-maintained.
"We began preparing for this year's inspection three to four weeks before the patrol's inspection," he said. "Basically, we went at it with different layers of severity of things that could be wrong. We also put a tremendous effort to preventative maintenance throughout the year."
Martin said during the inspection, a new bus purchased in November displayed a malfunction, which caused its yellow lights to remain flashing after switched off. He said as the inspection was underway, the issue was remedied with oil. It was the only occurrence of a defect during Poplar Bluff's inspection process, he added.
According to MSHP Col. Sandra Karsten, a total of 12,018 school buses across the state were inspected during 2018's program. Of all buses inspected, 90.6 percent were approved by inspection personnel with no defective items noted during inspection. A total of 281 Missouri school districts earned the patrol's Total Fleet Excellence Award, the patrol reported.
"The annual school bus inspection program is one way the Missouri State Highway Patrol serves and protects our children," Karsten said. "This program is a success because the Highway Patrol, Missouri's schools and private pupil transportation companies make transporting students safely a priority. I appreciate the positive and professional working relationship our agency shares with these professionals."
Regarding the annual inspection program, the MSHP stated that 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" and buses with a defective item which constitutes an immediate danger are rated as "out-of-service."
Poplar Bluff's complete results were: 43 presented, 42 approved, one defective and zero out of service.
Martin said to ensure Poplar Bluff R-1's fleet remains current, he requests four to five new buses each year. The purchase of five buses was approved during the 2017-18 school year by the Poplar Bluff R-1 Board of Education. Currently the oldest school bus in operation at R-1 is a 2006 Bluebird, Martin added.