Vandals scrawl graffiti on Oakland school causing $20K in damage

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Vandals scrawled pictures and word all over Acorn Woodland Elementary School in Oakland over the weekend, causing what the principal says is about $20,000 in damage and cleanup.

"It's the worst damage I've seen here in 10 years," painter Kellie Stapleton told KTVU on Monday, two days after the school alarm went off and a security guard said he saw what looked like to be two kids running off. The school has no security cameras. Stapleton said it's a lot of work to clean up the mess. Crews were busy at work on Monday erasing the walls and scrubbing the floors.

Two classrooms and the hallway were covered in pictures of goats,the words "Say 10" and "Tarzan," among other scribbles.

Oakland Unified officials said there were 38 school break-ins and acts of vandalism over the past two years. It's the students who get shortchanged, Principal Leroy Gaines said. "The school is a home for students," he said. "And for them to walk in and see this makes them feel they are nt safe. And that interferes with learning."
Students say the vandals may have thought what they did was funny. But teacher Mayra Alvarado said they're wrong.

"A lot of students are younger and they're like, 'Why would someone do this?'" Alvarado said. "I'm like, I don't really know but we have to keep on being resilient and strong."

The school started a GoFundMe page to raise money to buy security cameras.

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