Poor road conditions taking toll on Preston school buses

KINGWOOD — Preston County’s roads are taking a toll on the county’s school buses.
Preston County Schools Transportation Director Tony Harris said mechanics are seeing the need for more frequent repairs.
“It’s all about the suspension,” Harris said.
King pins, a pivoting mechanism on the axle of the buses, normally last two to three years. Rear spring bushings, another suspension part, are also being replaced more frequently.
“We’re breaking a lot more shock [and] body brackets,” Harris said.
Preston County schools mechanic Chuck Teter said about a dozen king pins have been replaced this year so far, and others will have to be done during the summer servicing.
“We don’t allow any looseness in anything, because they’re school buses and haul children,” Teter said.
“Our cargo’s too precious,” Harris said.
And, “the canopy over the roads, that’s taking a toll knocking the radio antennas off,” Harris said. The system went to shorter antennas, and some are still being hit by tree branches overhanging the road, he said.
Two strobe lights on the tops of buses have also been broken this year by branches, Harris said. The only service the lights usually require is replacing burnt out bulbs, he said.
The jarring roads also cause the front dashboards in the buses to loosen. “Everything in them takes a beating,” Teter said.
The county puts 67 buses on the road each day. Most days some or all of the 10 backup buses are called into service to replace buses that need routine or special maintenance.
“It’s going over budget, I’m sure,” Harris said of the cost of the additional parts required. He referred finance questions to Preston County Schools Treasurer Katrina Kerstetter, who did not return a request for information in time for this report.
So far, bus routes have not been changed because of road conditions, with one exception.
On the Old Evansville Pike, bus driver Chuck Plum said he makes a one-mile detour daily to avoid a section of road that collapsed during heavy rains this spring. Signs on the gravel road note the section is reduced to one lane.
“But if things don’t change, we are going to have to back out of some of these roads,” Harris said.
The problem is main roads are just as bad as the secondary ones, he noted. “This isn’t something new for our county. My personal opinion is this is something that’s been developing,” Harris said.
Like the State Division of Highways, the county school system is having trouble attracting personnel. Preston County has been advertising for a school bus mechanic for months, but applicants turn away when they hear the salary, he said.
“Law makers in this state have got to do something about pay scales,” Harris said.