Two Anchorage elementary schools will start off the new year with some pretty big repair bills. Police say vandals did thousands of dollars worth of damage to the schools over the winter break.
Vandals smashed nearly a dozen windows in several portable buildings at both Taku Elementary and Rabbit Creek Elementary schools. Rabbit Creek principal Greg Balcao said the damage was discovered by a teacher at about noon on Sunday. He believes it happened Saturday night.
But Kelly Ramey, the principal at Taku, said she knows exactly when it happened because the incident was caught on video by the school’s security cameras.
Source: Anchorage School District
The tape shows two boys who appear to be in their early teens standing by the portable buildings to the rear of the school. One seems reluctant as the other boy begins to smash the windows with what looks like a stick or small bat. The boys leave the scene but return a short time later. This time both boys participate in breaking more windows. The time is some time after midnight on Friday, New Year’s Day.
Ramey said that brings up the question of why young people are running around at night unsupervised.
“That early in the morning it means you don’t know where your kids are,” Ramey said. “Parents, we need you to know where your kids are, especially at twelve or two or four in the morning.”
Police said it will cost over $7,000 to replace the windows at both schools. They’re asking anyone who knows more about what happened to come forward. APD can be reached by calling 786-8900.
