MOKANE - South Callaway students and staff can rest easy in their bus seats after state inspections April 4. One hundred percent of the R-II district's 22 buses passed with flying colors, for the ninth time in seven years.
The annual inspections are conducted between late March and early April by Missouri State Highway Patrol's Troop F, with random spot-checks strewn throughout the year. More than 300 individiual parts on each and every bus, from the lights to the switches to the tires to the breaks, must be individually approved for the bus to pass. South Callaway's Transportation Director Donnie DeBrodie cannot be more thrilled with the news.
"It's tremendous," said DeBrodie. "That's seven years in a row, nine inspections in a row, thanks to all of the staff and how we work together as a team. The feeling is tremendous."
Should a bus not pass inspection, it would not be approved as safe for the road or its passengers until the faulty or defective parts are replaced. This clearly hasn't been an issue for South Callaway drivers and staff for the better half of a decade.
DeBrodie is also a certified driver trainer, and along with head mechanic Tracy Vandelicht, trains his staff to maintain their vehicles year-round, not just to coincide with anticipated inspections. Vandelicht said that the staff gives buses a full state-level inspection about every 4,000 miles.