Burglars break into Costa Mesa school

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- Computers, televisions and a microwave were reported

stolen from California Elementary School Tuesday morning, officials said.

Burglars made away with about $6,000 in property from four classrooms

at the school, in the 3200 block of California Street, said Costa Mesa

Police Lt. Ron Smith.

“[The burglars] probably pried their way into the classrooms,” he

said.

Smith said the burglary probably happened between 6 p.m. Monday, after

school employees locked the doors, and 7 a.m. Tuesday, when the doors

were opened again.

Crime scene investigators checked out the school Tuesday morning.

Smith said nobody has been arrested yet and that an investigation is

ongoing.

Such incidents unfortunately have been occurring from time to time at

California Elementary School, said Newport-Mesa Unified Supt. Robert

Barbot.

“It’s happened before,” he said. “Our schools are used heavily by the

community, but usage can also expose our facilities to abuse.”

Barbot said classes were not disrupted Tuesday, but that the children

were affected because of the missing equipment and damage to school

property. At least one window was broken, which could have allowed entry

for the burglars.

Barbot declined to comment on specific security measures the district

employs in its schools, but said “security is always heightened before

and during the holidays” when such incidents are common.

Barbot added staff at TeWinkle Middle School also suspect some

equipment is missing from one of the classrooms. He said there was no

evidence of forced entry in that school, but police are looking into it.

Security cameras were installed at TeWinkle last year, but Barbot said

taking such measures is always “a balancing act.”

“Equipment is expensive, but so are security cameras,” he said. “We

need to make use of them appropriately and consider privacy issues.

Sometimes, they may just not be cost-effective.”

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .