Vandalism of buses forces Falmouth to cancel school
(Vincent DeWitt for the Boston Globe)
By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent
Classes for all 4,000 students in Falmouth Public Schools were canceled today because vandals slashed tires on 40 of the district’s school buses, which put nearly the entire fleet out of service, according to police and school officials.
The damage was discovered early this morning by an employee from First Student, the company that operates buses for Falmouth.
The front tires of nearly all of the buses parked in a lot on Thomas B. Landers Road had been flattened, and the valve stems were cut off, police said.
“Initially we had hoped we would be able to have a two-hour delay, but as we started to find out more about the extent of the damage, we realized it was basically the entire fleet of buses,” Richards said, the schools superintendent.
The district explored the idea of borrowing buses from other school systems, but Falmouth needed so many that it “just wasn’t feasible,” Richards said.
This is the second time in two day that vandals have attacked the school system. On Monday, several doors were hard-glued shut at Falmouth High School.
“As far as we know, there is no connection,” Richards said. “It’s just a coincidence.”
Police are investigating the vandalism of the buses. No arrests have been reported.
First Student is in the process of fixing the buses, and schools are expected to be open Wednesday, Richards said.
