A pair of Penticton schools have been hit by vandalism recently, forcing the school district to use operating dollars to make the repairs.
SD67 Superintendent of Schools Todd Manuel confirmed that four windows had been broken at Queen’s Park Elementary over the weekend and were fixed by Monday morning.
Parkway Elementary has also had a few windows broken over the past month, as well as some profanity-based graffiti on some of the walls and garbage cans, said Manuel.
While the instances of vandalism at Parkway have been consistent over the past few weeks, the school district hasn’t seen a larger trend of that at Queen’s Park, or in the district in general, he noted.
“Our facilities team works hard to keep our buildings in the best repair possible for our students and staff, and are on school sites as soon as they learn of an issue,” said Manuel.
“It is always frustrating to see school property vandalized, and is especially frustrating to have to use our operating dollars to pay for damaged windows or clean up other related issues where schools are either damaged or defaced,” said Manuel.
Manuel commented that the facilities team do a great job fixing the schools in quick order but these types of vandalism make their jobs more difficult.
Endrené Shepherd took to Facebook after seeing the vandalism at Parkway, including the school being egged and is asking neighbours and visitors to keep a look out and report any suspicious behaviour.
“I can’t imagine what this is costing the taxpayers. It upsets me, as the kids in this neighbourhood deserve a safe place, like all children do,” said Shepherd.
“I’m hoping that well-meaning citizens and neighbours can start do an an unofficial patrol of the Parkway School grounds over the weekends. If anyone in the neighbourhood feels compelled, go for a walk around the school, report suspicious activity and help protect this community. Be a positive force for good.”
READ ALSO: City hands out free compost
READ ALSO: Hockey collector gives cards away
To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.
<p<
Â
@PentictonNews newstips@pentictonwesternnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
