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Transportation department wins all-green state inspection for first time since 2013
Summary
Rockford Public Schools’ transportation mechanics earned an all-green annual bus inspection — no yellow or red tags — for the first time since 2013. District officials credited a younger fleet, routine maintenance and recent investments including a bus wash and bond-funded bus replacements.
Rockford Public Schools announced Monday that its transportation fleet received an all-green tag on the state’s annual bus inspection — the district’s first such result since February 2013.
Director of Transportation Mister Pugh told the board the outcome means “no yellows, no reds,” a result he attributed to consistent preventive maintenance by the district’s mechanics, investments that have refreshed the fleet and a new bus wash. “Our mechanics put themselves, like, into an assembly line where each one of the guys are responsible for a certain area of the bus,” Pugh said. “They go through those buses because we don't know when the inspections will be.”
District officials said the inspection covered a fleet of about 70 buses. Pugh said the transportation department currently employs three mechanics and one part-time laborer who performs monthly checks (including seat inspections that inspectors focus on). He credited voter-approved 2019 bond proceeds that allow the district to replace roughly seven buses per year; officials said that pace will bring the fleet to an average age of 10 years or younger by the end of 2028.
Pugh and board members also noted other improvements that supported the inspection result, including covered parking for buses, regular washing that reduces corrosion and close oversight of maintenance schedules. The state inspector, Pugh said, commended the team and presented them with medallions in recognition of their work.
Board members thanked Pugh and his team for the safety-focused accomplishment; no action was required beyond the report.
