Catalytic converter thieves strike again at east Multnomah County school district

Bandits made off with

catalytic converters

from six school buses parked at the Reynolds School District’s transportation yard sometime over the Memorial Day weekend, authorities say.

District spokesperson Steve Padilla said Tuesday the thieves cut through fencing near West Salish Pond at the Northeast Glisan Street bus lot. Authorities are still reviewing camera footage to determine precisely when the break-in occurred.

Morning bus routes were not disrupted, though the district doesn’t have any short bus capacity to spare going forward.

The theft is another unwelcome blow for the nearly 10,000-student district, which is

facing a $25 million budget crunch

this year. Cuts to educators and other staff are expected.

“Now we have this added cost that we weren’t anticipating that’s going to add on to the fiscal burden that the school district is already facing,” Padilla said. “It’s a bummer.”

Thieves broke into the Reynolds School District transportation yard in May 2025.

Submitted Photo

This is the second

theft

of pollution control devices — which are made out of valuable rare minerals — since someone or some people stole 19 converters from the district in 2021.

Back then, the converters cost about $3,300 apiece to replace. Now, Padilla expects the cost to be about $4,500 per converter.

The spokesperson said

Reynolds

installed more cameras and lighting after the last break-in. Investigators from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office are reviewing the tape in hopes of identifying the culprits.

—Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083,


zsparling@oregonian.com


or


@pdxzane


.

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