Two Hour School Delay in East Providence Wednesday - Bus Batteries Stolen Last Night

In what appears to be a recent trend in the area, East Providence public schools have a two-hour delay today, Wednesday, October 25th. The reason for this "gift" to students is that vandals stole 33 school bus batteries from Ocean State Transit's lot at the Commercial Way.

At 6:17 AM a message from the RI Broadcasters Emergency network announced that "Schools in East Providence are delayed for 2 hours but all staff must report at normal time."

The school department message system also was sent to parents which said, "Due to a problem with bus transportation there will be a 2 hour delay of school today for all students. There will be no morning Kindergarten. All faculty, staff and administration, should report on time. We apologize for the inconvenience."

The parking lot is very dark at night and reportedly there are no outside security cameras. Transportation officials and the East Providence Police are investigating.

One police official said that "this is the latest craze in New England. Vandals steal school bus batteries and sell them on the black market." Recently Middleborough public schools had a similar incident in which school bus batteries were stolen. Portsmouth, RI and other communities throughout the region have reported the same thefts.

In the meantime, students get some extra sleep time today while parents scurry to alter plans with younger children. The delay effects all students, K-12.