Six school buses were damaged last weekend as someone broke into the Lebanon Community School District transportation yard and stole the catalytic converters from the buses.
The issue was discovered Monday morning by bus drivers, who arrived to ferry students after the completion of winter break.
According to Michele Steinhebel, director of communications for the district, the break-in occurred over the weekend. She said the situation resulted in “short delays” for some bus routes as staff made sure the remaining buses were operational.
“Thankfully, due to the quick actions of our drivers and the use of some of our smaller activity buses, all routes were able to be completed this morning and students / schools were not impacted,” Steinhebel said.
The Lebanon Police Department is investigating the theft, Steinhebel said.
She said a fence was cut by the suspect(s) to get into the yard and whoever is responsible was able to avoid security cameras.
The stolen equipment is specialized for school buses, and replacement parts may take time to obtain, Steinhebel said, adding that transportation delays may occur as repairs are completed.
She said district staff were awaiting estimates on the cost of new catalytic converters, but said the cost for four propane-powered buses will be $3,930 each, not counting mechanics’ time or other “soft costs.” The cost for two diesel buses will be “much higher,” she said, due to the requirement for diesel particulate filters on those vehicles.
“We don’t have a solid number yet,” Steinhebel said.
Supt. Jennifer Meckley also credited her staff with getting things up and running.
“Student safety is always our top priority,” she said. “While this incident was an unfortunate discovery this morning, our transportation team acted quickly to ensure our remaining buses were safe and operational and I commend them for their quick work.”
Anyone with information related to the incident is encouraged to contact the Lebanon Police Department at (541) 451-1751 and reference case number 26-145.