Rohnert Park elementary school to reopen after vandals break in

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. - Vandalism at a Rohnert Park elementary school forced district officials to shut down John Reed Elementary on Monday in order to clean up the mess that the superintendent says impacted about 50% of the classrooms and school facilities. 

John Reed Elementary School Principal Kristy Corbett sent a message to parents. It said the break-in occurred in the early morning hours.

"I am deeply saddened to inform you that our school was broken into…. resulting in significant damage to our facility," Corbett said in the message. "Due to the extent of the damage and the ongoing police investigation, we must cancel school for all John Reed students today."

Superintendent Mite Iturri with the Cotati Rohnert Park Unified School District said cleaning crews were on site to make sure the rooms were clean, so the 375 students could return Tuesday morning.

"Some individuals broke into the school and caused some extensive damage," she said. "We had to close schools as a result, which is upsetting to our school community and our families and our staff."

It was a shock for some parents when they arrived at John Reed Elementary School on Monday.

"I didn't know until I got here and no one was here...there are police officers there right now," Jennifer Santiago, a parent, said.

Officers with the Rohnert Park Department Of Public Safety say an automatic alarm went off early Monday morning. When detectives arrived, they found a mess.

"The school had been broken into and classrooms had been vandalized," Iturri said. "It was enough classrooms to determine that we couldn't open school today. Had it been one or two classrooms, we certainly would have opened school because we want kids in school. It's the most important things."

Cleaning crews were called in to make sure broken objects were cleaned up.

Iturri says the vandalism appeared to be random, not targeted. The superintendent says there was no graffiti. It appears a fire extinguisher was deployed, creating a mess in multiple areas.

The district says it plans to reopen the school on Tuesday.

"Making sure all the little pieces are picked up, if things were broken...we want it to look the way it looked when they left on Friday," Iturri said.

It was a difficult day for some parents who didn't have childcare. Jennifer Santiago said she did not have time to find a babysitter, so she had to take her two children with her to work.

Neighbors and parents say they hope to have more officers patrolling the area.

"I feel it's important to keep an eye on the area. It's such a family neighborhood around here, all the houses, and apartments and kids and stuff. It's sad to know someone is trying to damage it," Lily Dimond, a neighbor, said.

"To have the police more involved. I wish they have more security, have the police more involved," Veronica Cabrera, a parent said.

"Right now at this time, we don't think there is a community safety issue," Rohnert Park Public Safety Department's Deputy Chief Aaron Johnson said.

Johnson says detectives are looking at leads and processing evidence to find a suspect.

"We'll work with the school district and if they feel it will make them more comfortable if we have a little more of a presence, we'll do that," Johnson said.

Johnson said the investigators ask anyone with information to contact Detective Ashley Freyer at (707) 588-3513. 
 

What they're saying:

"It is still unclear if anything was stolen from the school or what the suspects' motive was.

However, school officials noted many of the classrooms contained iPads and teachers' laptops, which could have been targeted for theft. 

The Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety conferred with the school following the break-in and suggested the Monday closure in order to allow authorities to investigate the crime.

Iturri said that in addition to the damage assessment, the school will have to figure out how to make up for the lost school day.

"One, we're assessing the damage and the cost, because it's significant," she said. The second thing is, we have to make this day up, because we canceled school, but we do have emergency days built in."

The school – located at 390 Arlen Drive – is a transitional kindergarten through fifth grade elementary school, and is part of the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District.

Rohnert ParkNews