Radios stolen from School District buses

Heather Rawlyk

Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2004 | 9:43 a.m.

Clark County School District Police say someone stole 240 two-way radios, valued at a total of about $120,000, out of school buses during the weekend.

The two-way radios were stolen from the county's four locked bus lots, located on Arville Street, Russell Road, and Eastern and Cheyenne avenues, Officer Darnell Couthen of the school police department said. There was no sign of forced entry to the parking lots or the buses, he said.

The loss of the radios, which are worth about $500 apiece, affects about 20 percent of the school district's bus drivers, said Doug Geller, coordinator for bus operations for special needs students. Until the radios are replaced, those drivers will not be able to be redirected to other sites or be able to report problems into the dispatch office, Geller said.

Most drivers carry personal cell phones they can use in emergencies, Geller said, and they also can stop and use a pay phone or stop another school bus that has a radio. But the district will lose the flexibility of being able to reroute buses as needs pop up.

Geller said his special needs division will be the most affected, as the main office would call drivers to let them know if a special needs student would not be taking the bus on a particular day.

The school district has already issued an emergency request for more radios.

The robbery marks the second time two-way radios have been stolen from Clark County school buses in three months.

On July 17, 87 two-way radios -- about $50,000 worth -- were stolen from buses parked in a locked lot on Arville Street between Flamingo Road and Tropicana Avenue. The school district had replacement radios at that time, Geller said.

There are currently no police officers guarding the bus lots on weekends, Couthen said.

"We have no police at the bus yards, but those bus yards are a part of our routine patrols," he said. "At this point in time we haven't heightened security at the yards, but I'm sure it's something that's going to be reviewed."

There are video cameras and other security devices that detect movement around the yards, Geller said. Videotape was taken from one of the bus yards and is being investigated by police, Couthen said.

Sun reporter Christina Littlefield contributed to this story.