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Vandalism to Comox valley school properties prompts response from SD 71 superintendent

Tom Demeo

Tom Demeo

Special to the Record

Typically, summer holidays are a time when Comox Valley Schools operations staff are busy making repairs and upgrades to school facilities.

There are countless spaces in our schools that need painting and other improvements, and this takes a considerable labour force. Unfortunately, this past summer and in recent weeks, SD 71 staff were also kept busy covering up graffiti, fixing vandalism and dealing with break-ins. These incidents were not isolated and happened at schools throughout the Comox Valley. This is a massive waste of time and resources for the district.

Sadly, some of the graffiti we are seeing is blatantly racist. SD 71 acts very quickly to cover these despicable acts of damage. While school vandalism and break-ins generally comprise many seemingly trivial incidents, combined, they pose a serious problem for schools, communities, the police and fire departments.

A high proportion of vandalism occurs when schools are unoccupied, before and after school hours, on weekends, and during vacations. SD 71 has even had to go as far as hiring private security to monitor one of our sites that has been subject to repeated acts of vandalism.

Another trend we are experiencing is the rise in social media-related vandalism incidents (i.e., Tik Tok challenges). This often involves mindless mischievous acts in school bathrooms resulting in significant damage to toilets, bathroom sinks, hand dryers, and soap dispensers.

Vandalism costs schools and the district money that could otherwise be spent on educational materials and school activities. Vandalism costs are usually the result of numerous small incidents, rather than more serious incidents. However, the costs and frequency of school vandalism here in the Comox Valley are both high and increasing, taking valuable resources that could be used to buy better equipment and support students.

These unnecessary events take up significant staff resources. Each time a vandalism incident happens, we have to pull people away from work that is underway or scheduled. Staff are already scrambling to get schools painted and making other improvements; when someone is taken away from a project, it causes delays.

We are hoping that our communities and citizens can work with us at finding solutions. SD 71 is looking at ways to seal off or prevent access to areas that are subject to repeated acts of vandalism. However, our schools cannot become fortresses and we need to focus our resources on supporting our students. If you know about someone vandalizing school or community property, please report it. If you suspect your child is involved in tagging or graffiti, please speak with them, and let them know this is costing you money as a taxpayer. Your voice can make a difference – please help us create community environments that are free from graffiti and property damage.

Tom Demeo is the superintendent of School District 71