SNOQUALMIE – The Snoqualmie Valley School District is searching for students it suspects are responsible for letting the air out of the tires on a majority of the district’s buses last week.

“We are not considering this a prank,” said Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Scott Poirier. “We are considering this an act of vandalism.”

At around 4 a.m. on March 14, district employees showed up for work at the bus barn located off Silva Avenue in Snoqualmie to find 32 of the district’s 38 buses with flat tires.

It appeared as though a student or students had hopped the fence and let the air out of the tires by deflating them or breaking off the valve that allows for inflation. District officials believe the act was a senior prank gone awry.

The district had to call in help from all of its transportation employees and from local towing companies to get all of the flat tires fixed. Tow trucks were used to raise the busses while the district’s transportation department employees worked to fill the tires.

No other school property was damaged.

For the complete story, pick up a copy of this week’s Valley record