Oak Grove school district to get tough with vandals
Newsletters sent to parents in Oak Grove District 68 usually are filled with good news of successful fundraisers or student achievement.
Monday's edition, however, outlines recent acts of vandalism and a promise from Superintendent Janice Matthews to get tough on offenders.
"We're an elementary district; it's normally positive things," she said. "It's kind of unusual to talk about a subject like this."
Since last month, someone has gotten on the roof of the sprawling Oak Grove School building on O'Plaine Road in Green Oaks four times. Damage was discovered twice, on April 10 and May 3, and totaled $5,000 or more.
An air conditioning unit was tampered with, and the damage discovered when it didn't work. A vent pipe was filled with rocks and had to be repaired. A security camera was knocked off its fixture and had to be replaced, and an air vent was damaged.
Intruders also forced open a metal door and were able to get into a mechanical room, but no entry was made to the school. Operations have not been disrupted, but Oak Grove leaders have had enough.
"We need to end this problem," Matthews wrote.
Although Oak Grove students are not suspected, parents are being encouraged to call police if they spot anyone on the roof.
"The funds we are using to repair these damages are below our insurance deductible and therefore are dollars that will not be spent on educating our children," the newsletter reads.
Safety concerns are more important than dollars spent, she added.
"I suspect it will happen again. Even if it doesn't, I know there will be kids on the roof and that's unsafe," Matthews said.
Whoever has been on the roof apparently scaled the mullions on the windows, made their way to a ledge and crawled across to access the roof.
"It looks pretty scary to me. I wouldn't do it," Matthews said.
The school board's operations and maintenance committee on Wednesday will discuss possible fixes to limit roof access.
When someone was caught in the past, a meeting with parents generally ended the problem, Matthews said.
The district now intends to file charges. Criminal trespass at a school is a misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail and/or a $2,500 fine. Criminal damage to school property can be one of several grades of felonies, which carry substantially more serious fines or prison time.
The Lake County Sheriff's office has added a patrol for the school and is considering other unnamed measures.
"The Lake County sheriff said they'll come by more often but if we continue to have trouble, we may have to keep somebody there all night," Matthews said.