Transportation employees at Scotland County Schools were the top performers in a statewide bus safety check.

The school system had a 2.88 bus defection rate for the 2009-2010 school year – the lowest in the state – after a check of each district's fleet of buses, according to David Roller, transportation director for Scotland County Schools.

Roller said state inspectors visit each bus lot, inspecting 10 percent of the buses based on a state bus maintenance handbook that's an inch thick. The average defection rate was 38.38 for North Carolina.

Most of the faults found with Scotland's fleet were trivial issues, Roller said, like a warning light that's lens needed to be rotated 90 degrees.

The most serious flaw was a noisy differential – hardly a safety concern.

Four county buses had perfect scores.

"Our mechanics have worked really hard to get our shop into the shape it's in," Roller said. "I'm real proud of them."

He said each of the school system's four mechanics is responsible for 20 buses, and each had two of their buses inspected. Both of buses maintained by Chris Peele that the state looked at were flawless, with Eugene Oxendine and Shelton Strickland each having a bus with a perfect score.

"These guys are driven... to ensure the safety of our children," Roller said.

The mechanics did not achieve such a strong performance on their own, Roller said. Bus drivers also did their part, telling mechanics when issues arose instead of waiting for the monthly inspection.

All 14 members of the department brought their combined 274 years of experience into play in making Scotland's buses the best performing in the state, Roller said.

The county had just three buses involved in accidents last year, he said, with no reported injuries. None of the incidents were the fault of bus drivers.

"Our buses are safe," said Andy Cagle, school spokesman. "They do a great job of maintaining our bus pool."

He described the maintenance staff as a "professional, committed group" of employees worthy of statewide praise.