BELLE — The Maries County R-2 Board of Education on June 27 discussed the district’s spring bus inspection.

Board Director Joey Butler II asked what the rating was.

“He had zero that were out of service, but 25 percent that were fixed and put right back in service,” said Superintendent Dr. Lenice Basham. “There was a light that was out of one, some kind of screw missing on two. In a stop sign, there was a screw that was loose. They tightened those up and they were put right back in service. (Tony Gieck, transportation director) said he didn’t have any taken out of service. He said they were such minor things, but they were identified.”

Gieck said the district has older buses, so he is happy with the score.

“We can’t afford new buses,” he said. “I have one bus with 275,000 miles on it and my newest bus has 80,000 miles. I am happy with a 75 or 80 percent. We are spending a lot on parts, but we just can’t buy new buses. A brand new Plane Jane bus is $125,000. I am happy with our score when you look at that.”

The Maries R-2 district is working through complications of delayed replacement work on the Dry Fork Bridge located on Highway 28 near the bottom of Liberty Hill.

“I am not sure how that is going to work yet,” Gieck said. “I have two buses that it is going to wreak havoc on. That is the only two buses that are going over that bridge and they are two of our longest routes.”

The Dry Fork Bridget was built in 1929 and has undergone several rehabilitations. Missouri Department of Transportation has identified the bridge as a priority replacement and rates it in poor condition.

Gieck said it would have been nice for the project to be completed or near completed before the beginning of school. Work on the bridge is estimated to take about 127 days. There are only 144 days in a school year. Maries R-2 did not offer summer school transportation because of the Dry Fork and other local bridges scheduled for repair.