SAN ANTONIO — It wasn't business as usual at the San Antonio ISD transportation depot Tuesday.
Instead of focusing on the maintenance of school buses, crews are cleaning up the aftermath of some brazen catalytic converters crooks. Dozens of transportation vehicles were damaged after thieves broke into the depot overnight, resulting in losses in the tens of thousands of dollars and sparking a police investigation.
SAISD released a statement Tuesday morning, in which officials said 20 vehicles in their maintenance fleet were targeted. Two converters were stolen from each vehicle; they cost $1,200 to $1,400 each.
"That's an expense that wasn't planned for in our budget," said Nathan Graf, director of transportation for SAISD. "(Catalytic converters) are hard to get off, but then they're also heavier to lift off."
Officials believe the criminals used a battery-operated saw to get to the components, cutting them right out from under the vehicles.
Now that it's been targeted multiple times, SAISD transportation officials are taking new measures to stop the crooks before they strike again. Crews are now spray-painting the converters in bright orange, etching "SAISD" on each one.
The goal is to stop thieves from profiting off the stolen parts.
"If they do it and they take it to a salvage shop, that salvage shop will say, 'Wait a minute, this doesn't look right.' And they won't take it because, typically, a salvage shop will give them a couple hundred dollars for that scrap metal," Graf said.
He added the district has surveillance video of the crime and hopes it will prove useful in tracking down the thieves. SAISD police officers are investigating, but no arrests have been made as of Tuesday afternoon.
"Anytime something like this happens, it's hurting our kids at the end of the day," Graf added.
SAPD officials say that, since January, the department has investigated more than 800 cases of stolen catalytic converters.