A rash of catalytic converter thefts has left the Bakersfield School District without some its school buses and eyeing an expensive repair bill.
Bakersfield Superintendent Dr. Amy Britt said one or more thieves last week stole the catalytic convertors off of a school van and two additional buses. One of the buses had its entire exhaust system removed in the theft, and a fourth vehicle shows signs of being tampered with.
Catalytic converters are devices designed to convert the environmentally hazardous exhaust emitted by a vehicle’s engine into less harmful gases. Thieves use common battery powered handtools to cut the devices off vehicles, and then sell the stolen part as scrap metal for the platinum, palladium or rhodium found inside.
Britt talks about the popularity of the automotive part.
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The Bakersfield District has 11 buses. Britt says the school was able to shuffle some things around to make things work with the buses its does have running.
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According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a catalytic convertor can fetch anywhere between $50 to $350 when sold for scrap metal. Britt says the district is facing some hefty repair bills to get its damaged buses back on the road.
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Britt says the district has beefed up its security in the wake of the thefts.
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Anyone with information about the catalytic converter thefts is encouraged to call the Ozark County Sheriff’s Office at (417) 679-4633 or the Bakersfield School District at (417) 284-7333.
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