PSUSD Evaluating Security After Fifth Burglary
The Palm Springs Unified School District is fighting back after a series of school burglaries. The latest break-in happened last weekend in Cathedral City.
According to Roy Hill, Director of District Security, a total of 60 to 70 white Apple Macbook laptops have been stolen in five burglaries that have happened since late last year.
It’s unclear how many computers were taken in the most recent incident.
The schools broken into include Landau Elementary School, Sunny Sands Elementary School, Cathedral City Elementary School and Cahuilla Elementary School.
Hill said Palm Springs and Cathedral City police now patrol the schools at night and on the weekends.
District leaders are working with principals to discuss safer ways to store the computers.
“We’re looking for them to store them in a more secure area,” said Hill. “Somewhere where may not have windows, maybe a closet area. They have to be chargeable at the same time, they have to have electricity, there so we have to find something that works, and that’s why we’re kinda doing a site-by-site finding out what’s best for each school. There’s no one fix that works for all the schools.”
Kimber Fain said she is fed up. Her daughter goes to Cahuilla Elementary School.
Thieves broke into the school twice in December and January and took dozens of laptop computers, police said.
“If they don’t find something out, I’m gonna come here and start busting people up because this is frustrating,” said Fain, a mother of three children.
Some of the laptops stay at the school, and others go home with the children.
Julian Jimenez said home might be the safest place for them.
“The best idea is they need to take it home,” she said. “That’s for me, my idea, take it home. Then they can check in here anytime. Early in the morning, they have time to check their work on the computer.”
The computers are insured, but the children’s work on the computers aren’t.
“That’s one reason we’re working so hard to stop these burglaries and recover the laptops, so we can recover the physical costs, and also the work the kids have put into the program,” said Hill.
If you have any information call Valley Crime Stoppers at 760-341-STOP.
You can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
