A southwest Atlanta elementary school was broken into this weekend and around a dozen classrooms were vandalized during the incident, local news teams have reported.
The damage at Kimberly Elementary School was discovered this morning just before 6 a.m. by a milk delivery man, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The man immediately called local police after seeing cash registers on the floor, presumably in the cafeteria area.
Kimberly Elementary School is currently located inside the Walter Leonard Parks Middle School building, located on McMurray Drive, while the school’s permanent location is being renovated.
When authorities arrived at the McMurray Drive building, they discovered additional damage in several other rooms: school supplies had been thrown across classrooms, glass from broken windows had been scattered across the floor, and vending machines had been damaged. Red paint was splattered on the floor and walls of one classroom, said Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones.
Atlanta Public Schools is still trying to piece together what happened while assessing the total damage, reported CBS 46 News, although Channel 2 cited one parent who said that several projectors were stolen.
All of the students were brought to the school’s cafeteria and gym while maintenance workers cleaned up the classrooms as best they could.
The average cost of filling a single classroom with basic school supplies like notebooks and pencils is estimated to be around $700 these days, so it’s clear that the Atlanta Public Schools system will be funneling quite a bit of money into the clean-up — but perhaps more jarring than the cost of this weekend’s escapade is the fact that this isn’t the first time Kimberly Elementary has seen intruders.
In fact, this weekend was the fourth time the school has been broken into.
The district issued a statement this morning regarding the incident:
“Atlanta Public Schools can confirm Kimberly Elementary School was broken into over the weekend. All students and staff are safe. This incident is under investigation by the Atlanta Police Department.”
Officers are still looking for clues about how the break-in occurred and who is responsible. If you have any information about this weekend’s break-in, local authorities are urging you to contact Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477.
