Rockwood Transportation Earns Near-Perfect Score in Annual Bus Safety Inspections

The Rockwood Transportation Department earned a first-time pass rate of 99.2 percent on this year’s annual Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) bus inspection process.

Out of the 126 active Rockwood School District buses, only one was not a first-time pass due to a minor issue with its tire rod. The bus was not taken out of service, repaired during the process and passed the second time through inspection.

Rockwood routinely tops 98 percent on a yearly basis – scores around 10 to 12 percent higher than the state average – and earned a perfect first-time pass rate in 2017 and 2024. Rockwood will maintain its Fleet Excellence award from the MSHP, earned by having more than 90 percent of a fleet's vehicles pass first-time inspections.

Rockwood’s Transportation maintenance staff members play a pivotal role in keeping district buses in top shape, and their dedication is reflected each year in MSHP inspections.

“Our team puts a lot of hours in making sure everything is working like it should," said Director of Transportation Mike Heyman. "The Highway Patrol has told me that Rockwood is one of their favorite places to hold inspections because our drivers and staff really have it together and make their jobs much easier. We take pride in making sure our buses are in top condition for our students, staff and families.”

Each day, the Rockwood Transportation team provides safe, efficient transportation to and from school for more than 10,300 students.

Rockwood’s maintenance team works closely with the district’s drivers to identify potential issues with the buses and address them promptly. Maintenance staff members also keep a detailed repair history for each bus so they can identify potential trends. 

Rockwood maintenance shop supervisor Kevin Westhoff and skilled mechanics Mike Davidson, Dustin Frank, Damon Highley and Kurt Repa begin the process of preparing the buses for inspection in January and – by the time of the inspections in the spring – all the buses on the fleet have received three or four rounds of thorough checks.

This is in addition to day-to-day maintenance of the bus fleet and “white fleet” of district vehicles – more than 230 vehicles total – as well as driving routes when they need to be covered.

State inspectors judge school buses based on criteria such as brake performance, lighting, steering mechanisms, windshield wipers, tires and more.

We are always looking for dedicated, hard-working applicants to join our award-winning Rockwood Transportation team. For more information and to apply, please visit the district Transportation webpage.