April 24, 2025
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UPDATE: Bourbonnais school officials working to restore transportation

No decision yet regarding Friday school

By Stephanie Markham
The new addition to Bourbonnais Elementary School District’s Liberty Intermediate School sits on the East side of the property, accompanied by new bus lanes and a two-lane parent pick-up loop, as shown in July 2020.

The new addition to Bourbonnais Elementary School District’s Liberty Intermediate School sits on the East side of the property, accompanied by new bus lanes and a two-lane parent pick-up loop, as shown in July 2020. (Daily Journal/Tiffany Blanchette)

BOURBONNAIS — Bourbonnais Elementary School District officials were left scrambling after the theft of catalytic converters from the district’s bus fleet forced the cancellation of school Thursday.

Late Thursday morning, Superintendent Adam Ehrman could not yet confirm whether or not school would be in session Friday. Updates would be forthcoming later in the day, he said.

“Right now, we are very hopeful that we’ll be able to minimize the problem and get back up and running as quickly as possible,” he said.

In a statement shared with families, Ehrman said the district is “actively working on all fronts to restore transportation and resume school as soon as possible.”

“Earlier today, we were forced to cancel school due to a criminal act that rendered our entire bus fleet inoperable,” he said in the statement. “This deliberate mechanical sabotage has deeply impacted our ability to safely transport students, and we are treating this situation with the utmost seriousness.”

According to the statement, the district is collaborating with neighboring districts to temporarily borrow buses, working with its bus servicing companies to assess and repair the damage, and engaging with parts suppliers to expedite the delivery of critical components.

“While we are encouraged by the tremendous support and willingness to help from our partners and surrounding communities, we cannot yet confirm whether school will be in session tomorrow,” Ehrman said in the statement. “However, we are determined and hopeful that this egregious act will result in only a one-day disruption to our educational services.

“We will provide an update as soon as we can confirm school operations for tomorrow.”

Bourbonnais Interim Police Chief Dave Anderson said 21 buses were damaged. The buses were all outside at the district’s bus maintenance facility along Career Center Road near Liberty Intermediate School.

One catalytic converter was recovered at the scene.

The district’s fleet contains 24 full 77-passenger buses, plus buses for special needs students, two mini buses and three minivans, according to a February update from Transportation Director Scott Austin.

District 53 transports roughly 1,918 students per day, representing 81.6% of its student population, Austin said in his report. In comparison, an average of 52% of students take the bus to school statewide.

As for the missed instructional day, Ehrman said the assumption is it will have to be made up at the end of the school year.

However, he is exploring if there may be exemptions that could be used under the circumstances.

“I hope there’s some type of consideration based on the fact that this is obviously a non-environmental factor, this is an actual criminal act against us,” he said.