Bus inspections are a go ? again.
After Gov. Jennifer Granholm previously cut money from the state budget for school bus inspections, word came out on Friday, Oct 30 that she signed the Michigan State Police (MSP) Budget Bill, which included the requirement for the MSP to do school bus inspections.
‘As part of the 2010 fiscal year budget for the Michigan State Police, signed today by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, safety inspections of Michigan school buses will continue without interruption,? said Col. Peter C. Munoz, Director of the Michigan Department of State Police in a statement he issued on Friday.
‘Per the Governor’s direction, the department will identify resources within its budget for transfer into the school bus inspection program. Where this funding will come from has yet to be determined, but may result in a reduction in service elsewhere,? said Munoz in his statement.
‘We are all very relieved,? said Charlene Podzikowski, who is the Transportation Supervisor for the Oxford School District. ‘I’m glad they’re back on and we do like that third party checking our guys work.?
The Michigan State Police Motor Carrier Division is responsible for inspecting and certifying the safety of more than 17,000 school buses each year. The funding for the program is part of the K-12 school aid budget.
The 11 inspectors, hired by the Michigan State Police to inspect school buses statewide, were previously notified of layoffs earlier this month, but they were contacted by phone on Friday and went back to work on Monday, Nov. 2.
The buses are usually checked out by the MSP inspectors once a year between Sept. 1 and Aug. 31.
According to Shanon Banner, a spokesperson for the Michigan State Police, 17,085 buses were inspected last year and 89 percent of the vehicles passed the MSP requirements. A red-tagged bus is immediately placed out-of-service and cannot be used to transport students until the problem is fixed. Vehicles identified with less serious safety defects receive a yellow tag and have to be repaired within 60 days.
Out of 40 buses Oxford school district uses, only one was red tagged.
According to Podzikowski, it would have cost the district $80-$100 dollars per bus to inspect them. There would have also been additional costs for the inspectors to come back to reinspect tagged buses.
Mark Hillebrand, who works as a mechanic for Oxford School District, believes the inspections are necessary.
‘They (inspectors) bring in a lot of information from what they see around the state to help us with things and problems they’ve seen that are arising in other places gives us a heads up to what to look for,? said Hillebrand. ‘We do learn a lot from the inspectors.?
Oxford bus mechanic Mike Strong echoed Mark’s comments about the inspectors.
‘You can learn so much from what these guys see…they get to see all types everyday, so it’s nice to get their opinion on them.?