UPDATE 6/5/25 5:25 PM — The School District of Waukesha says it was unable to run 19 morning routes on Thursday. 17 of them were able to run in the afternoon.
The district anticipates all routes to run as normal on Friday.
WAUKESHA, Wis. – School bus service in the City of Waukesha was hampered Thursday morning after an overnight catalytic converter theft spree at the First Student bus lot.
Police say in a statement to WTMJ the theft of approximately 20 catalytic converters from the lot was discovered early this morning, just prior to the start of scheduled student transportation services.
Several school bus routes are expected to be delayed or canceled today. Parents tell WTMJ they received notifications from the School District of Waukesha about the incident Thursday morning.
No one is yet in custody while evidence is being reviewed by Waukesha Police.
The district tells WTMJ it has informed parents about the delays and cancellations, and are working with families to arrange for alternate transportation. You can read their full statement below:
“The School District of Waukesha became aware earlier this morning that multiple First Student buses were compromised overnight by having their catalytic converters stolen. We have worked in partnership with First Student to inform our families of the bus route shortages to the best of our ability. We will work throughout the day to figure out what transportation will look like this afternoon and moving forward.”
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