Police investigate break-in at Schenectady school

Thousands of dollars worth of ipads stolen; juveniles suspected

Police and school officials are still trying to identify all of the youngsters who used an open roof hatch to gain access into the local elementary school in their neighborhood last month and stole ipads worth thousands of dollars.

Marva Isaacs, president of the Hamilton Hill Neighborhood Association, recalled Monday how upset she was at learning about the security breach April 30 at the Martin Luther King Jr.

School of Excellence at 918 Stanley St. She noted that “some of the same kids are creating havoc to other people’s homes” in the neighborhood around the school.

Isaacs, who lives kitty-corner from the school on Stanley Street in the Hamilton Hill neighborhood, said that the parking lot at the King school often attracts mischievous school-age children as well as adults who often drink and blast music from vehicles.

She was among a small group, including police and school officials, who were briefed Thursday on the ongoing police probe.

A city police spokesman did not return a call seeking comment on Monday.

School district spokeswoman Karen Corona said Monday that a group of at least eight youngsters, all of whom appear to be juveniles based on surveillance footage, entered the school through an open roof hatch around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday April 30.

She said they operated under the cover of darkness keeping the lights off and used an exit window to leave the school sometime early the next day, the morning of May 1.

It was unclear if the roof hatch was left open by a district employee.

“They came and went various times throughout the night until early in the morning,” Corona said.

During that time, the intruders stole multiple ipads, valued at between $5,000 and $10,000, from a special education room and helped themselves to food in the school’s community room, Corona added.

Their escapade was captured on school surveillance cameras, which police and school officials are viewing in a bid to identify everyone involved in the incident.

“School folks looking at the video were able to identify some of them, they’re not from King but from the middle school, I believe. But we’re still working with police on it, so we don’t have everyone identified,” Corona said.

She said there was another break-in at the school Nov. 1.

As a result, the school is in the process of adding more surveillance cameras to the half dozen or so that are currently there.

“We are working to address any security vulnerabilities, including enhancing intruder detection systems,” Corona said in a text message, adding that the police department will also receive any alarm calls from the building.

Isaacs said what’s more upsetting to her is that the district recently completed some upgrades inside and out of King school that impressed her and changed the environment.

She said the principal told her during Thursday’s briefing that the mother of one the students involved in the incident wants her daughter to clean the school after school as punishment for her actions.

Later this week, Isaacs is scheduled to take part in a community event at the elementary school where, among other things, people will have the chance to join the neighborhood association.