Fayette

County School District's fleet of 193 school

buses have passed safety inspections by the

Georgia State Patrol, reported bus shop foreman

George Davis.

"The

inspection went great and we had little or no

problem at all," Davis said. The only

problems found were minor, he added.

The

Georgia State Patrol annually checks all public

school buses for the condition of the fluid

systems, steering, tires, lights, brakes, exhaust

system and interior.

This

year, bus shop mechanics had to "hunker down

and get ready for the early inspection in the

parking lot," of the LaFayette Education

Center, according to Davis, because of a June 21

fire that gutted the bus barn and destroyed five

buses and two maintenance trucks. The automotive

shop at the facility, formerly the Fayette County

High School, is serving as a temporary base of

operations for the crew.

Davis

said space is limited, about one-third of the

area previously available for use, but noted that

a bus can be accommodated within the walls of the

shop once the entrance is enlarged. "We

still have quite a bit of work to do on the

buses," Davis admitted.

The

recent fire also destroyed 40 of the 50 cameras

purchased last year for surveillance on the

buses. Davis said the cameras were removed from

the buses at the end of the school year and

stored in the garage for safe keeping. "We

still have to replace a lot of the equipment lost

in the fire," he said.

The

school system recently added 23 new buses to its

fleet of 152, through a lease/purchase

arrangement with the Georgia School Boards

Association.

Total

cost included in the fiscal year 2000 budget for

the buses is $278,000. The transportation

department also plans to sell 17 surplus buses to

the highest bidder. The buses are older models

dating back to 1985 through 1987.