JEFFERSON CITY — Results of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s annual Driver and Vehicle Safety Division’s 2020 school bus inspections conducted this past spring were released Tuesday.

Of 36 Gasconade County R-2 School District buses inspected, 91.7 percent received an approval with 5.6 percent found to have at least one defect while 2.8 percent were listed as “out of service” upon initial inspection.

Those buses found defective require repair within 10 days. Buses placed out-of-service require correction of the component(s) prior to further usage, according to Col. Eric T. Olson, MSHP superintendent.

Statewide, school buses rated as “approved” upon initial inspection numbered 10,539. There were 1,030 school buses rated as “defective” upon initial inspection and 259 rated as “out-of-service” on initial inspection.

A total of 258 Missouri school districts earned the Patrol’s Total Fleet Excellence award this year for a 100-percent rating including the Gasconade County R-1 School District in Hermann. All 19 buses in the Hermann fleet passed inspection.

During the 2020-21 school year, 5,594 buses in these award-winning fleets are eligible to display the Patrol’s Total Fleet Excellence sticker in the lower corner of the first window on the passenger entry side of the bus. Also receiving this honor was the Spring Bluff R-XV School District (six of six buses with no defects) and the Strain-Japan R-XVI School District (two buses). School bus inspections are public record available at https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/PatrolDivisions/DVSD/MVI/documents/2020AnnualSchoolBusInspectionResults.pdf.