SAN ANTONIO — School bus technicians and inspectors will compete here from Sept. 27 to 30 to be named "America's Best."

The National Association for Pupil Transportation's (NAPT) 8th Annual America's Best competition will be hosted by the Texas Association of School Bus Technicians this year. Organizers said they hope to see at least 30 states represented.

The competition will be integrated with a variety of workshops for both technicians and inspectors related to components and systems on school buses.

The competition and training workshop is limited to one inspector and one technician per state. All prospective technician participants must be currently employed in a position requiring regular maintenance and/or repair of school buses. All prospective inspector participants must be currently employed in a position requiring regular inspection of school buses.

The competition is co-sponsored by Hydrotex, Bus Parts Warehouse, Zonar Systems and the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.

Delco Remy is offering scholarships to technicians who wish to participate. Bus Parts Warehouse and Zonar offer scholarships that enable each winner to attend the Annual NAPT Summit. This year's Summit takes place from Oct. 22 to 27 in Cincinnati.

For more information or to register for the America's Best competition, visit www.americasbesttech.org. Questions can be directed to Marshall Casey at MCASEY@ed.sc.gov.