EV schools hard-hit by vandalism

Each summer, East Valley School District sees its share of vandalism as buildings sit vacant. But this year the vandals have become more aggressive, causing more expensive damage.

“We’re expecting the total damages to be over $20,000 this summer compared to a few thousand last year,” said Richard Cook, manager of fiscal affairs for the district.

Custodians at East Valley Middle School have painted over graffiti almost daily, but it has kept reappearing.

The vandal wrote, “Go ahead, keep trying to clean it up. I’ll just keep coming back.”

In addition to recurring graffiti and broken sprinkler heads, the district has suffered thousands of dollars in damage to expensive equipment.

In July, someone got on the roof of Trentwood Elementary School and destroyed the air-conditioning and refrigeration units, causing $5,000 to $6,000 in damage. Fans on the roof also were destroyed at a cost of $200 to $600 each.

Earlier this month, vandals did the same thing at Otis Orchards Elementary School, damaging not only the air- conditioning equipment but also the tile roof. The cost is expected to be even greater than the damage at Trentwood.

The district has insurance to cover the vandalism, but there’s a $5,000 deductible per incident.

“That’s your levy money at work,” said Debra Howard, assistant superintendent of operations.

Howard said she believes someone knows who is responsible for the damage and she hopes someone will come forward with the information. She urges anyone who sees anything suspicious to notify the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and the school district.

Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan said that with the exception of tagging and graffiti, he doesn’t think vandalism at schools is necessarily a planned event.

“I don’t think they leave the house intending to damage the school or park, but stuff happens. If the kids are out and about and they find themselves at a school and they’re bored, then vandalism happens,” said Reagan.