VANDALS TARGET BUSES, SABOTAGE THE TAXPAYERS

What else must small school districts deal with these days? Certainly, the citizens who support public education in Jackson have reason to be disheartened. Like in a great many other Missouri school jurisdictions, Jackson is hurting financially, backed against the wall of a tight budget. On Thursday morning, a more immediate sort of fiscal calamity arose: 104 tires were slashed on 24 of the district's buses. It was an unconscionable act and one that serves only to hurt education in that community.

The Jackson district is unusually vulnerable to this sort of vandalism because its bus fleet is critical to the school system. Jackson schools have an enormous rural reach and their buses travel hundreds of miles daily to collect a far-flung enrollment. To cut to the heart of school operations, to debilitate the district in short-term fashion, disabling the transportation system is full-proof.

Vandals, who had more in mind than mere mischief, must have known that. By the time bus drivers discovered the crime at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, it was far too late for school officials to do anything but cancel classes for the day. This late and unexpected decision created mayhem for the district, which ran head-long into the task of turning around students already on their way to school, and contacting scores of parents to have them arrange child care for a day that would have otherwise been taken up with classes. School employees deserve credit for their rapid and thorough work. Transportation system workers and area tire companies also did yeoman's work in getting the buses into service for Friday's school day.

What remains though is the fact that up to $20,000 in damage was caused to public property; the school district and an insurance carrier will suffer directly, but make no mistake taxpayers will foot the bill for this incident. Beyond that, there is a lingering anxiety, even after all vehicle inspections are complete, that some vandalism to the workings of these buses has gone undetected; the cargo these vehicles carry is so valuable that efforts can not be short-changed in ensuring their safety.

The Jackson school district will soon discuss ways of stepping up security for its buses. Some good points will be raised about added lighting and added visibility for their parking lot. However, the greatest deterrent to having this crime repeated is the capture and prosecution of the perpetrators. Our hope is someone steps forward with some information about the crime, if not just for the $1,000 reward being offered, then to send a signal that offenses of this significance will not be tolerated.