All four Callaway County public school district bus fleets scored near or above "excellent" marks in the 2013 Missouri State Highway Patrol's annual school bus inspections, which occurred March and April this year.
North and South Callaway both earned perfect scores, with every one of their buses being cleared for service by inspectors who looked over all moving parts, seats, electrical apparatuses and other important safety features.
North Callaway earned a 96 percent rating in 2012 with one bus found defective. South Callaway also earned a 100 percent that year. Fleets scored 90 or above are deemed excellent by the patrol. Should a bus not pass on any of the criteria - brakes, bumpers, frames, fuel systems and other various aspects of the vehicle - it would not be cleared for use until the problems are corrected.
North Callaway Transportation Director Doug Kee was proud of the accomplishment, saying that children were "our most valuable commodity." He attributed the district's success to mechanic Lawrence Jenkins, who also earned an award last summer from the Missouri Association for Pupil Transportation recognizing him for earning 90 percent or better over the past 15 years of inspections.
"We've had Lawrence for 30 years," Kee said. "When you think that he's been for 30 years and 15 of those 30 he's had 90 percent or better, that's a pretty good track record. We're very fortunate to have Lawrence."