Orchard Lake

Bus vandalism causes district to cancel classes

By Eric Czarnik
C & G Staff Writer

The start of the second semester hit a speed bump in the West Bloomfield School District Jan. 30 as all of the district’s schools shut down classes due to bus vandalism.

District spokeswoman Pam Zajac said 18 buses out of a fleet of 58 were damaged in a vandalism spree, which occurred at a bus storage area located near Abbott Middle School.

“They had pulled wires from batteries, and they also pulled the fuses, and air was let out from the tires,” she said. “We only see two figures (in the surveillance video). … Footprints are there, and you can follow the tracks.”

Zajac said the tires would need to be removed from the vehicles before anyone could know for sure whether they had been slashed.

Orchard Lake police said at least two subjects apparently hopped a barbed-wire fence at the rear of the bus lot at around 9:30-10 p.m. Jan. 29. Police said the subjects reportedly flattened a few tires and disconnected the warmers that plug in to keep the batteries warm and allow the diesel engines to start.

Police Chief Joe George said the bus area is under 24-hour surveillance, and he said he intends to enhance the security video footage as soon as he is able.

George said it is still too early to get a detailed description of any suspects. “My guess is that, age-wise, they probably were in the neighborhood of 16, 17, maybe 18 years old,” he said.

Police had no estimate for the cost of the damage, but Zajac said she doesn’t think it will be exceedingly high. The biggest cost, she said, was canceling a day of classes.

“It’s not a good situation,” she said. “This was our first day back for the second semester. They had final exams last week.”

Despite the canceled classes, Zajac said the district’s after-school athletic activities were intended to continue as normal, and a Jan. 30 Board of Education meeting would start as scheduled at West Bloomfield High School, 4925 Orchard Lake Road, in West Bloomfield.

Classes were scheduled to commence Tuesday, Jan. 31, school officials said.

To learn more about the West Bloomfield School District, visit www.wbsd.org or call (248) 865-6420.
 

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Eric Czarnik at eczarnik@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1058.