Agat school vandalized twice in two weekends
Guam - As if students don't have it hard enough already, Oceanview Middle School was hit by vandals two weekends in a row, and school officials are asking the public to come forward with any information relative to this case.
It marked the second weekend in a row that the school was targeted by thieves, last weekend, the culprits broke into the main office and stole a set of keys to all the classrooms. This weekend those same keys were used to break into several classrooms. Not only did the thieves steal several items but also trashed the rooms by spraying it with fire extinguishers.
"They even messed up the classrooms with the students' projects," the administrator said. "Some of the other items they took, again, they broke into the storage room, they stole the water blaster, which was donated by the PTO, who worked very hard to fundraise for this because we needed one. And there it goes. It was stolen."
Also stolen were projectors, laptops, CD players and telephones. "It's just so disheartening and so disappointing and disgusting to know that someone can do this to the schools that are really low in funds, equipment and resources. We are doing the best with what we have. For them to do this to the students, it really hurts," Hernandez Avilla continued.
Hernandez Avilla says the Department of Education should consider providing foot security during weekends and nights to protect the campuses on island. In the meantime, custodian Quentin Taimanglo spent most of the day cleaning up the mess. He said, "It's a lot of work for us. All the people come out to help us and this is a mess up for me."
School aide Jesus Quinata agrees that it's an unfortunate situation, and something needs to be done soon. "It's very frustrating because it re-routes all the daily schedules and there's a lot of cleaning up to do," he said dejectedly. "It's going to take awhile to even clean up one wing and there are three or four wings involved and so it really messes up all the scheduling."
If you have any information on this case, you can contact Guam Crimestoppers at 477-HELP (4357).