The computers will be expensive to replace and both students and parents are angry that thieves targeted their school.
The technology room at River Glen School isn't as advanced as it sounds -- at least not today. The computers on the desks right now are older than many of the students who use them. It was just last week that 31 new iPads and 31 new laptops were sitting on rolling charging stations. But over the weekend, someone pried the door open and took them.
"My kids in the car this morning said, 'Why is somebody going to steal from kids?' Sad," parent Samantha Fein told ABC7 News.
"I just thought it was really terrible because we all spent last year fund raising for it," 3rd grader Emlyn Frederick said.
There were 60 new laptops and 120 new iPads, all bought last year after a lengthy fundraising effort put on by HABLA, the parent-teacher association. The laptops, iPads, and charging stations were valued at more than $72,000, not enough to meet the district's insurance deductible, which means replacements won't be coming anytime soon. Now, just 118 are left for the 550 students.
"It was hundreds, maybe thousands of hours of work. So, it's really devastating to the entire community here that we lost such a huge amount of money," PTA member Steve Gonzales said.
Principal Carlos Salcido says this puts back the teachers' efforts to get the students ready for the start of next year's new state assessment testing. But sometimes, the hard lessons in life aren't learned in the classroom.
"The reason we teach respect is because once they get out of our school and are part of a larger society, they have respect other peoples' property and this was an example of someone who didn't respect them as students. They didn't respect our school and they definitely didn't respect our property," Salcio said.
The parent-teacher association HABLA, is hoping to raise money to replace the iPads and laptops. Click here for more information.
