Bus recognition

The Jackson School District has a reputation for good schools. Now the district's bus fleet has been recognized as one of the best in the country.

School Bus Fleet magazine has put the district's bus system on its list of the top-10 fleets in the U.S. The rating is based on safety, maintenance and efficiency.

The Jackson buses had a 100 percent score in state inspections five times in the past eight years. School buses are inspected by the Missouri State Highway Patrol twice each year.

The school district's buses have surveillance cameras. In addition, transportation personnel are assigned to ride some of the buses to check on student behavior.

The 280-square-mile district is large both in terms of students and geography. The 54 buses operated daily transport nearly 3,000 students more than 3,500 miles each school day, adding up to more than 600,000 miles each year. That's a lot of driving and a lot of precious cargo. Congratulations to the district for excelling at a task that couldn't be more important.