Beth Rumsey
Staff Writer

Students at Batesville Community Schools experienced a delay to their school day on Tuesday, August 17 after 16 buses had the valve stems on the front tires cut. The vandalism occurred in the bus lot, a secured area behind the Batesville High School.

BCSC Transportation Director Ed Krause received the phone call a few minutes before 6:00 a.m., almost too late to call a delay. After hearing the news, local businesses stepped in to help make the repairs to the 30 bus tires including Koch’s Auto Repair and Pierson’s Marathon in Oldenburg; Bedel’s Marathon; Tom Linkel’s The Shop and Laudick Trucking in Sunman.

Franklin County School District provided six buses; Jac-Cen-Del Community School Corporation provided two buses and Oldenburg Academy loaned one bus to assist with the morning pickup.

According to Krause, with the repairs of several of the buses completed and the addition of the loans, all the students were able to make it to school on time. All repairs were completed in time for the afternoon routes.

According to Detective Mike Benjamin, the Batesville School Corporation is currently working to determine the estimated damage amount, which could reach several thousand dollars.

According to Detective Benjamin, those responsible can be charged with Institutional Criminal Mischief, a class C Felony that carries a punishment of 2-8 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

The incident is being investigated by the Batesville Police Department and by the school’s resource officer. According to Krause, tips have already begun to come in from the public.

The Batesville Police Department will pursue every lead that is gathered in an effort to arrest those responsible, according to Detective Benjamin. Local businesses and individuals have come together with the Batesville School Corporation offering a reward for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible.

Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to contact the Batesville Police Department at 812-934-3131 or the BCSC administrative office at 812-934-2194. Tips can also be emailed to gbrowning@ batesvillepolice.org or broope@batesvillepolice.org.