Pinewood Elementary in North Delta was hit by vandals twice last week who tagged parts of the school with racist and obscene graffiti.
On Thursday night and Saturday night (Dec. 12 and 15), someone left lewd messages, including racial epithets, in red paint on a portion of the school’s wall.
“Unfortunately, from time to time, we do have instances of graffiti at our schools and we have had a couple of instances of graffiti at Pinewood Elementary in the last couple of days,” Cathryn Tucker, communications manager with the Delta School District, said on Monday.
“Obviously, it is really disappointing for the district and the school and the teachers and the students, they don’t like seeing their school property damaged.”
Steps were taken after both incidents to immediately cover up then remove the graffiti before the students arrived for school, and Tucker said the Delta Police Department is investigating.
DPD public affairs manager Cris Leykauf said the incidents were reported to police on Friday and Sunday (Dec. 13 and 16), and that both had similar graffiti including “numbers, a word referring to a specific ethnicity and a drawing of male anatomy.”
Principal Jim Hope sent a letter to parents after Thursday’s incident, asking them to talk to their children about graffiti and the damage that it causes, as well as asking them to pass on any credible information they may have.
“We are lucky to have a school situated in such a beautiful area. Unfortunately some individuals chose to vandalize the school and property with large amounts of graffiti Thursday night,” Hope wrote.
“The district and Delta police take these matters seriously as they are a drain on district and city resources. It is often a small number of individuals that are responsible for these offences and we ask that everyone have a chat with their kids about the importance of being respectful to our school and community. Please encourage anyone with credible information about damage that has been done, or will be done to the school, to tell a trusted adult.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly named Pinewood Elementary’s principal as Kim Hope.
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