It would have been much easier not to ruffle feathers. So much easier to let the issue slide for a few weeks, to become a nonissue in 2017. Who would have been the wiser?

But that’s not what happened, nor should it have been. And for that, officials at Butler School District deserve a word of praise for coming clean with a controversial development involving its school bus contractor.

Somebody at Butler School District noticed that one of the buses was older than the 10-year cap specified in the district’s contract with Valley Lines Inc.

Not just any bus; it was No. 204, the one involved in an accident three months ago on Bonniebrook Road in Summit Township. The accident sent four students and the driver to hospital with minor injuries. A state police investigation was inconclusive, but driver error was listed as a contributing factor — even after the driver reported hearing a loud “bang” an instant before he lost control of the vehicle. It sideswiped an oncoming pickup truck, rolled over an embankment and threw a front wheel.

What wasn’t considered was the age of the vehicle — at 12 years perfectly legal under state law, but noncompliant under terms of the district’s contract with Valley Lines.

The contract sets a 10-year cap on the age of bus chassis for two primary reasons:

- The safety of bus passengers.

- The amount of state subsidies returned to the district, based on the age of each bus.

As it turned out, Bus 204 was the tip of a very big yellow iceberg: 21 buses were deemed noncompliant. All 21 have been replaced with new or at least compliant vehicles.

While we recognize that the safety of our children is paramount, it’s not our task here to weigh the relative risks and safety, or to measure blame or culpability. We have courts, judges and juries to sort out these details.

Suffice it to say the safety of Butler school children has been compromised over the past four months on 21 Valley Lines buses under contract with Butler School District. That’s a serious and sobering fact that merits at least as much soul-searching as finger-pointing.

The noncompliant buses also represent money out of the pockets of Butler taxpayers — thousands of dollars in state subsidies calculated on the ages of the school buses in service.

It’s in the spirit of doing what’s right that we offer a word of praise to the district for choosing to be forthright in reporting its discovery, and doing so completely and promptly.

Admittedly, that’s bitter medicine. What’s done cannot be undone. Valley Lines CEO William Clepper told the Butler Eagle he’s responsible for a misinterpretation of the contract that he mistakenly believed gave him permission to run the 2004 buses until the end of this month. The new replacement buses that went into service this week had been ordered several months ago and were all ready to go in January anyway, he said — that’s why the new buses were available immediately.

Meanwhile, Butler School District is hiring a specialist on a per diem basis to help Transportation Director Debby Croft calculate exactly how much the out-of-date buses have cost the district in lost state transportation subsidies. Thomas King, district solicitor, says Valley Lines is on the hook for the lost subsidies. Clepper says Valley Lines will cover the loss.

This all might have been an honest mistake. It might have been a poor business decision. Let’s reserve judgment while maintaining a little healthy skepticism.

Either way, when it comes to re-establishing a measure of trust and integrity with parents and taxpayers, the district and Valley Lines have some work ahead of them. Their candor at Monday’s meeting was a good first step in that direction. Thanks to Butler School Board and board President Nina Teff for representing and responding to the public’s right to be informed.

The right path isn’t always the easiest.