Nearly a half dozen older laptops and iPads, a set of brand new bus radios and a small safe bolted to a floor are among equipment and items that disappeared following a pair of recent break-ins at Orcas Island School.

School Superintendent Barbara Kline said the new bus radios and three cellular phones were stolen on the night of July 6 from the school’s maintenance shop, and that those responsible apparently got into the building by shattering a locked window. That same night, two older laptop computers and a pair of older I-pads vanished from the school’s tech office, where it appears thieves were able get inside by jimmying the handle of a locked door, Kline said.

An older laptop disappeared from the gym as well, she said.

“It’s all just very irritating and it takes time and a lot of trouble to replace it all,” Kline said. “The radios just came in. We hadn’t even used them yet.”

Kline said it’s rare for the school to be broken into twice in one weekend, but that’s evidently what happened.

On Monday night, someone broke into the elementary school by busting out a window and made off with a small safe that had been bolted to a floor. The safe contained cash and checks, the amount of which has yet to be determined, Kline said.

“They pried up the whole safe and just took it,” she said.

Kline noted the district has improved its security by installing “key pads,” or combination locks, on most of its doors, and that school windows were locked at the time of both burglaries.

She said that Sheriff’s deputies were at the school earlier in the week to investigate, and that the district’s insurance carrier has been notified about the break-ins and missing equipment. She hopes those responsible will be identified after news of the burglaries and the impact to the district filters through the community.

“We’d certainly like to know who’s doing this,” she said.