Wadsworth Elementary School in South L.A. has become a repeated target for burglars and vandals, with six incidents reported so far this year.
Following the latest incident over the weekend, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Superintendent Alberto Carvalho took a walk-through of the campus and described the extensive damage: "There were 24 classrooms whose doors were damaged, and the individuals had access to the classrooms those doors; some of them had to be replaced, and the entire system needs to be re-keyed. We are estimating at this point the damage to be around $115,000."
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Carvalho urged community members to assist law enforcement in identifying the perpetrators. "There is an application called Los Angeles Schools Anonymous Reporting (LASAR) that can be downloaded by any member of our community. It's currently being used where information can be provided, any information that anyone has in the community about who may have done this," he said.
Unfortunately, Wadsworth Elementary is not alone. LAUSD has reported a total of 171 school break-ins this year, leading to property theft and significant disruptions to the learning environment.
Carvalho expressed strong condemnation for these acts, saying, "We will investigate and use our resources to prosecute to the full extent of the law those individuals who believe that this is the new normal; it cannot be."
The superintendent is hopeful that funds from the recent approval of Measure US will be allocated to install alarm systems and security cameras, deterring future break-ins and protecting school property.
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