Digital equipment worth $10,000 remains missing from a car stolen from Te Puna School.
The vehicle was found with the interior tagged and muddied.
Principal Neil Towersey said the metallic lime green Hyundai Getz, which was discovered neatly parked and locked at the nearby Te Puna Scout Hall, had been sent for
insurance repairs but would still cost the school $1000 in excess.
A further $1500 will be spent on excess for items including a MacBook laptop, data projector, and digital and video cameras stolen from three classrooms during Sunday's break-in.
Mr Towersey said the school had a monitored alarm which sounded at 5.45pm but by the time the security company arrived the thieves had scarpered.
They also made off with a chainsaw from the caretaker's shed, where the car was kept.
More expense has also come in replacing many locks at the school after the thieves stole a master key.
Mr Towersey suspects teenagers were responsible for forcing the door of a classroom, giving them internal access to rooms used by children aged 5 to 9.
He said the rooms were ransacked by the thieves but nothing had been damaged.
Mr Towersey said the burglary was more of a costly nuisance than anything else, taking up time staff could spend on teaching.
He said the school had not been hit by thieves in a long time.
"We've been actually really, really lucky over the years".
Tauranga Police are keen to hear from anyone with information in regard to this burglary, including anyone who may have seen the car being driven around on Sunday evening.
Contact Tauranga Police on (07) 577 4300 or call anonymously on 0800 SPEAK UP
