Vandals strike at elementary school

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- Newport Heights Elementary staff spent Friday evening

cleaning orange slush off the cafeteria floor, pulling a stuffed animal

from a microwave oven and mopping up foam from a fire extinguisher after

vandals struck at the campus and stole money from a classroom, officials

said.

School officials said a kindergarten classroom and the cafeteria were

the vandals’ targets, but classes resumed as usual Monday morning with

all signs of the damage gone.

“We were able to deal with it and our maintenance staff had it all

cleaned up Friday evening,” said office manager Cindy Hiland. “It was not

permanent damage.”

The vandals visited the school sometime between Wednesday night and

Friday afternoon.

According to police reports, the vandals stole $100 from a classroom.

They also grabbed a camera in a kindergarten classroom, exposing and

ruining film, police said.

Although school officials said they are not sure how the vandals

gained access to the rooms, police say somebody likely stole a master key

and used it to get in.

The estimated cost of the damages has not yet been determined,

officials said.

Police said there are no suspects. However, it appeared to be the work

of kids, said Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Shulman.

“It’s hard to say for sure,” he said. “But vandalism of this kind

happens periodically in elementary schools.”

At the end of the last school year in June, there were several cases

of reported vandalism -- including Newport Heights.

That incident involved someone sticking a lighter through a partially

open window and igniting some paper art decorations. There was no damage

done in that incident.

In another case the same week, vandals heaved more than a dozen bags

of compost into the shallow end of Newport Harbor High’s 50-meter pool.

Although there was no permanent damage, the pool was closed for two days.

And at the private Carden Hall School, someone climbed onto the roof

and urinated on the principal’s desk through an open skylight.

Finally, at Corona del Mar High School, a vandal sprayed profanities

on walls with gold paint and knocked over large trash bins.

Officials credited the incidents to end-of-the-year pranksters.

Despite those problems, Hiland said vandalism and burglary are unusual

problems for Newport Heights Elementary.

“I don’t remember any incident recently,” she said. “It’s very sad.”