School buses vandalized in Idaho Falls lot

Idaho Falls police are trying to catch the person, or persons, responsible for vandalizing several school buses that belong to Idaho Falls School District 91.

District officials are left with broken mirrors, busted glass and a big mess to clean up.

Over a dozen school buses were vandalized, leaving behind $6,000 to $8,000 in damage. Now, taxpayers have to foot the bill.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Allen Burnham, District 91’s lead bus mechanic, who made the discovery when he showed up for work Thursday morning.

“We noticed that there was broken glass all over the lawn,” Burnham said.

That’s when a routine school bus inspection turned into a police investigation.

This isn’t the first time the District 91 buses have been hit by vandals.

“This is the second time it’s happened in two weeks,” Burnham said. “The first time it wasn’t nearly as extensive.”

The latest strike comes despite all attempts to prevent these crimes from happening.

“No keys are left on school buses,” Burnham said. “We pull all fire extinguishers, all first aid kits — anything that can be used to create this kind of vandalism.”

Meanwhile, police say they have no leads.

“It would be nice, if somebody who saw this — maybe knows whoever did this — would call the police and throw a tip at them,” Burnham asked of the public.

The phone number for Bonneville County Crime Stoppes is 522-1983.

Burnham said the damaged school buses should be back in service soon, and that normal operations won’t be affected.