A herd of 11 elephants raided the Kacharu High School in Kuanrmunda block in the wee hours of Tuesday.
School headmaster Siba Prasad Mohapatra said at around 2.30 am the elephants reached the school in search of food.
They broke open door of the store room and feasted on food grains that were kept for mid-day meal programme. He said at least four quintals of rice, 30 kg of pulses, one bag of potatoes and other food materials were eaten by the animals. Utensils were damaged and a portion of the boundary wall razed.
Mohapatra added that elephants also forced their way to two classrooms and damaged furniture. Two years back, the same herd had raided the school.
Rourkela DFO Sanjeet Kumar said it was the same herd which had entered the Kuanrmunda forest range three years back and Rourkela city in July this year.
The herd was recently sent back to Chirubera forest of the district bordering Jharkhand, but the animals returned.
The herd was last seen holed up in nearby Tangrain reserve forest and efforts were underway to keep the animals at safe distance, the DFO said.