SKOWHEGAN — Police say they have found evidence that may lead them to who vandalized eight school buses sometime between Thursday and Sunday at the district bus garage.

Police Chief Don Bolduc said the police department was notified of the damage on Sunday by a passeryby. School officials said the crime could have happened any time since Thursday.

SAD 54 Transportation Director Gary Stafford surveys the smashed windshield of a district bus at the bus garage on Tuesday. Eight buses were vandalized over the weekend. Staff photo by David Leaming

A window in one of several SAD 54 spare school buses was shattered recently. Staff photo by David Leaming

Vandals shattered many windows in SAD 54 school buses in Skowhegan. Staff photo by David Leaming

Bolduc said rocks were thrown through windows of several buses “and sticks were found jammed in the radiator area of the buses” at the School Administrative District 54 bus garage on East Maple Street near the Memorial Field sports complex and baseball field.

Bolduc said Tuesday that police “recovered physical evidence from the scene and are reviewing surveillance cameras in the area.” He said the department was not ready to publicly disclose what that evidence is.

There are video surveillance cameras trained on most of the parking lot, School Administrative District 54 Support Services Manager Don Leavitt said. The area where the buses are parked is at the back of the lot. A fence separates it from the ballfields beyond.

Damage to the buses is estimated to be more than $2,000, Leavitt said. The windshields on seven buses were smashed with rocks, four sliding side windows were busted, and a window on one of the bus doors was broken in, leaving a large hole and the low-shatter glass on the ground and inside the bus.

Leavitt said the buses are insured.

Round stones from the unpaved parking lot still lay on ground under many of the shattered windows Tuesday at the bus garage.

Gary Stafford, SAD 54 transportation director, surveyed the damage Tuesday.

Asked if he thought that vandals might be district students, Stafford said, “I don’t know why anybody would do it — I wouldn’t do it myself, but I don’t know what the reason is.”

“Who knows? I don’t like to make statements on something I don’t know nothing about,” he said. “They come by. Done it. It might not even be kids. Who knows?”

All the buses are Blue Bird models, about 16 years old —older than much of the fleet and used as backup and spares if some of the buses in the main fleet break down. They have been parked at the far end of the garage lot since last fall, Leavitt said.

“We’re fortunate that we’ve got enough buses that it didn’t impact our ability to run school on time,” he said.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

Twitter:@Doug_Harlow

Related Stories