Blissfield, Tecumseh top local schools in bus report

About 85 percent of the 233 buses in use by Lenawee County schools passed inspection during the 2007-08 school year, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Michigan State Police.

Statewide, 90 percent of school buses passed inspection without problems. The state police inspected 17,220 school buses over the course of the year.

Two Lenawee County school districts were among the 384 districts statewide with 100 percent pass rates:?Tecumseh Public Schools, which contracts with Ohio-based First Student Inc. for bus services, and Blissfield Community Schools, which operates its own buses. It was the second year in a row Blissfield had a perfect score.

Buses that do not pass inspection are designated as “yellow” or “red.” A yellow designation means the bus can continue operating, but the defects must be repaired within 60 days. A red-tagged bus cannot be used to transport students until the problems are fixed.

The annual inspection covers 198 items.

“They basically check every working item on the bus,”?said?Todd Armstrong, coordinator of fleet maintenance operations for the Lenawee Intermediate School District.

Armstrong said buses that receive red flags often have relatively simple problems that can be fixed on the spot.

Following are the state police inspection results for Lenawee County schools:

— Addison Community Schools:?13 buses; 11 passed; two red.

— Adrian Public Schools: 36 buses; 30 passed; one yellow; five red.

— Berean Baptist Academy: Two buses; none passed; two red.

— Blissfield Community Schools:?24 buses; all passed.

— Britton-Macon Area Schools: Seven buses; six passed; one red.

— Clinton Community Schools:?12 buses; nine passed; two yellow, one red.

— Deerfield Public Schools (through the LISD):?Six buses; five passed; one red.

— Hudson Area Schools: 19 buses; 13 passed; one yellow; five red.

— Lenawee Christian School: Eight buses; seven passed; one red.

— Lenawee Intermediate School District: 23 buses; 21 passed; one yellow; one red.

— Madison?School District: Nine buses; six passed; one yellow; two red.

— Morenci Area Schools: 10 buses; nine passed; one red.

— Onsted Community Schools: 23 buses; 17 passed; two yellow; four red.

— Sand Creek Community Schools: 14 buses; 12 passed; two red.

— Tecumseh Public Schools (through First Student):?27 buses; all passed.

“There are a lot of policies and procedures built into the system that keep us on top of things,” said Sue Dieter, contract manager at First Student Inc., the contractor for Tecumseh Public Schools. “I think the key is having a system in place to keep up on maintenance.”

She also said its oldest bus is no more than 10 years old.

“I like to think we have a good maintenance program that has been working very well for our fleet,” said Blissfield Community Schools mechanic David Dunbar. “We make sure to do routine maintenance checks.”

Dunbar has been a mechanic for 29 years, both at Blissfield and the LISD.

Adrian’s buses that were flagged were already out of service.

“All of ours were buses we weren’t using,” said Ken Tokarz, director of operations at Adrian Public Schools. “They were just on our lot and we were planning to sell them.”

Two mechanics with the district give the buses periodic inspections, he said.

Bill Stump, Hudson’s transportation supervisor, said he wouldn’t call any of the problems “major.”

“Most of them were an exhaust leak and parking brake problems,” said Stump, who has been with Hudson Area Schools for 23 years.

He said at the time of the inspection the school didn’t have a full-time mechanic and now it does.

“The buses are in great shape now,” he said. “The drivers inspect them daily and let us know if something needs attention.”