MICHIGAN -- The Michigan State Police perform yearly inspections on school buses to make sure they're up to par. You can find your district in the report by clicking here.
Many West Michigan school districts did just fine on their inspections. Some have room for improvement. The inspections took place over a one year period and ended just before this school year.
FOX 17 talked with Jenison Public Schools superintendent Tom Tenbrink who said his district's inspection took place in the spring. He said he was shocked that so many buses were yellow tagged and red tagged. That means they’d have to be taken out of service until problems were repaired. The transportation department immediately made the required repairs, he said.
Problems can range from a burnt out tail light, to loose seats, etc. In Jenison, Tenbrink said several of the buses were red tagged because some of the brake pads were worn down. The district was so concerned with the inspection they changed up personnel.
"We actually hired a bus transportation supervisor that has a mechanic background. So he's now put a proactive maintenance plan in place for all of our buses," Tenbrink explained.
"My expectation is that we are going to have 100% compliance when they come back through with their inspection this year," he said.
Tenbrink said the drivers also now do a pre-route inspection and an end of route inspection to make sure everything on the bus is in working order.
