Vandalism a costly problem

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- Vandalism is a problem that costs taxpayers in the

Newport-Mesa Unified School District upward of $25,000 each year.

During the last school year, between Sept. 1, 1999, and June 1, 2000,

the district’s maintenance department reported 179 incidents of vandalism

that required cleaning or repair of school property.

Many of those incidents included multiple broken windows or locks or

were listed as “clean graffiti from entire school.”

The cost to taxpayers was $28,221.

And that price tag does not include the most recent summer months,

when the school grounds are quieter and more susceptible to vandalism.

Not included in that report were another 31 incidents that occurred in

June alone, officials said.

“I don’t get it, why they would do this to their own place of

learning,” said school board trustee Jim Ferryman.

“Sometimes it’s guys who get all tanked up and break a window, other

times it’s a senior prank and they throw stuff in the pool. But they

don’t realize that it costs thousands of dollars. That’s money we could

be educating kids with.”

AGE-OLD DILEMMA

Vandalism is not a new problem at schools. It’s not even an increasing

problem at schools, district officials said.

It is an age-old problem that, while consistent, really comes in

waves, said Eric Jetta, the district’s director of facilities maintenance

and operations.

“My feeling is I don’t think there’s more,” said Don Martin, who is in

his seventh year as principal of Corona del Mar High School. “I think

it’s like waves rolling in from the ocean. It comes in rashes that are

not explainable.”

In his 11 years, Jetta said he has not seen a tremendous increase in

the number of incidents, but it has consistently eaten up hours of his

staff’s time.

For instance, two years ago -- between Sept. 1, 1998, and Sept. 1,

1999 -- Jetta’s staff reported 166 incidents of vandalism, ranging from

the usual broken windows and graffiti to repairing fire-damaged buildings

and windows with bullet holes.

During that year a staggering 95 windows were broken, he said.

Graffiti was cleaned off school walls 71 times.

FEW VANDALS CAUGHT

While the district has a strict policy of making students or their

parents pay for damage, most vandals go unpunished.

“We ask parents to provide restitution for cleaning it up or replacing

items that are broken, but schools, by their very nature, are open to the

public because they are community-owned,” said Judy Franco, a longtime

school board member.

There are several things that make it difficult to nab the culprits

responsible for defacing school property, officials said.

First, the incidents usually occur at night, on weekends or when

school is on break.

During the Thanksgiving holiday last month, at least half of

Newport-Mesa’s 29 schools were vandalized to some extent.

At three Costa Mesa schools -- Davis Education Center, Costa Mesa High

School and the site leased to Coastline Community College -- vandals

threw manhole covers through windows and ransacked offices in search of

cash and valuables.

During the same four-day school holiday, vandals broke into Newport

Heights Elementary School, where they sprayed orange slush on the

cafeteria floor, put a stuffed animal in the microwave and stole $100

from a classroom.

At Corona del Mar High, vandals hopped the fence to the pool area, cut

down the backstroke flags and shoved various items into the water.

As for the day-to-day vandalism, the district follows the national

zero-tolerance model used by gang task forces across the country that

calls for the immediate removal of any graffiti.

Custodians arrive on school campuses hours before students, and by the

time the first bell rings there are no traces of graffiti that may have

covered the schools walls at 5 or 6 a.m.

If no one sees the vandals’ handiwork, it takes the fun out of it for

them, Jetta said.

In fact, Newport-Mesa officials are so quick to remove signs of

graffiti that Sgt. Clay Epperson, who is in charge of the Costa Mesa

Police Department’s gang detail, said it often is cleaned up before he

can arrive to see it.

GANG ACTIVITY DECREASING

Although he is called out to schools whenever there is graffiti that

could be gang-related, Epperson said that was the case in only a few of

the 71 reported incidents.

“Of the vandalism on school campuses right now, the vast majority is

not gang-related,” he said.

“And the number of incidents that we can specifically identify as

gang-related is a small percentage.”

In fact, Epperson said, there has been a significant drop in gang

activity in the last few years.

“Recent statistics show gang activity down 70%,” he said. “So it’s

kids acting out -- bored kids damaging property.”

A POSSIBLE SOLUTION

The $163-million school bond voters passed in June holds one possible

solution to the ongoing problem: security cameras at each school.

But in the meantime, school board members and district officials are

calling on parents and community members to help with the situation.

“There’s a lot of support in the community to make sure that the

property that belongs to the community is taken care of,” said Supt.

Robert Barbot.

“Obviously, we try to do what we can internally, but it’s a

partnership. These public facilities belong to everyone; that’s why it’s

up to communities to really bring down vandalism.”

Although parents with children in school see some of the vandalism,

Ferryman said, he doubts they know the extent of it.

“I think they know something happens but not the degree or how much it

costs the school district -- and let’s be honest -- a part of this

problem is lack of parental control,” he said.

“My last one’s a teenager and you’ve got to keep a tight leash on

these guys and know what they’re doing.”

FYI

Following are the acts of vandalism reported by the Newport-Mesa

Unified School District’s maintenance department:

Sept. 1, 1998, to Sept. 1, 1999

* 166 reported incidents

* 71 reported cases of graffiti

* 95 broken windows

* Total cost to school district: $25,439

Schools with the most vandalism:

* Estancia High School: 17 reports

* TeWinkle Middle School: 15 reports

* Costa Mesa High School: 14 reports

* Newport Harbor High School: 13 reports

* Victoria Elementary School: 13 reports

Sept. 1, 1999, to June 1, 2000

* 179 reported incidents

* 87 reported cases of graffiti

* 59 broken windows

* Total cost to school district: $28,221

Schools with the most vandalism:

* Rea Elementary School: 32 reports

* Estancia High School: 30 reports

* Newport Harbor High School: 21 reports

* Corona del Mar High School: 11 reports

* Victoria Elementary School: nine reports

* TeWinkle Middle School: nine reports