BUTLER TWP — A school bus that wrecked Sept. 21 in Summit Township, sending four Butler School District children and the driver to hospital with injuries, was outdated and should not have been in service, under terms of the district’s contract with Valley Lines Inc.

Bus No. 204, was a 2004 model — with a chassis at least 12 years old, according to school district documents, copies of which were obtained by the Butler Eagle. The bus was being used in routine operations, not as a spare or substitute bus, according to the correspondence.

And it was not the only bus that was out of compliance. A recent audit of the roster of Valley Lines buses serving Butler schools in the 2016-17 school year found at least 21 buses out of compliance with the district requirement that each bus is no older than 10 years. Eight buses have 2004 chassis and another 13 have 2005 chassis.

All 21 of the buses are off the road now, taken out of service, members of Butler School Board learned during their business meeting Monday night. The 2004 models have been replaced with new models. The 2005 buses are being replaced today with buses that meet contract specifications, said Superintendent Dale Lumley.

The age of the vehicles was not a factor in a state police investigation of the Sept. 21 accident that occurred on Bonniebrook Road. While the buses are considered outdated by the provisions of the school contract, a school bus older than 10 years is still legal under state law if it passes a stringent safety inspection.

While the state police investigation was inconclusive, the bus driver, Ted Codispot, reported hearing a loud bang before the bus sideswiped an oncoming pickup truck and rolled over an embankment, according to previous reports.

While the safety of older school buses is the primary issue, there is a secondary issue of taxpayer reimbursements offered as incentives for having newer buses. According to the recent audit, conducted by district Transportation Manager Debby Croft, if the 21 noncompliant buses had been replaced with compliant buses at the beginning of the school year, the district would have qualified for an additional $8,640 in state subsidy. The previous school year, if 16 noncompliant buses had been replaced, the additional subsidy would have amounted to $7,872.

A meeting took place Dec. 5 at the school district administrative offices with William F. Clepper, CEO of Valley Lines, to review the audit and to notify Clepper that Valley Lines was out of compliance with its contract.

In a written response dated Dec. 8, Clepper replied that Valley Lines is acquiring buses immediately to replace the noncompliant ones and should be fully in compliance by this week.

Clepper did not attend Monday’s board meeting. Contacted by phone afterward, he said the renewal of his contract coincided with the district’s consolidation, which created confusion and uncertainty for everyone including the bus service.

“I’m an honest contractor. It was an honest misunderstanding,” he said. “I’m scrambling to make this right as quickly as possible.”

Clepper said there was a discrepancy in the contract — one reference to a 10-year cap on the age of the bus chassis, but another reference to the end of the year at which a chassis turns 10 years, which Valley Lines interpreted to mean an 11th year of service. Confronted with the threat of losing the district’s business, Clepper said, he’s not challenging the interpretation.

Valley Lines’ current five-year contract with the district expires at the end of the 2020 school year.

According to the contract, the district has the right to withhold pay or revoke the contract entirely and keep a performance bond if the contractor fails to provide safe transportation with the required number of compliant vehicles.