Vandals trash 2 classrooms at SLO County elementary school. ‘We are really disappointed’
Vandals trashed two classrooms at Oceano Elementary School before lessons started on Monday morning, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage.
Televisions were smashed, desks were overturned and school materials were scattered. Retardant from a fire extinguisher coated everything in one classroom.
“I’m very heartbroken because I had just spent the last three weeks decorating this classroom. It’s my first classroom,” said second grade teacher Ayslyn Leslie, whose classroom was one of the ones vandalized. “At first sight, it looked horrible. ... It was just so bad.”
The other classroom that was damaged is used by Bright Futures, an after-school program.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office estimated the damage done to the classrooms at $7,000, according to spokesman Tony Cipolla.
“We are really disappointed that this happened on our campus,” Oceano Elementary Principal Michelle Johnson told The Tribune. “Oceano Elementary is a great school and seeing damage like this is unusual. This is not a reflection of our school or our community. Our school is a safe place for our students.”
The vandal or vandals — who have not yet been identified — broke into the classrooms sometime between 3 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Monday, according to Cipolla.
Cipolla noted the vandalism is “possibly gang related since gang logos were written on the whiteboards.”
The school materials strewn across the floor included Leslie’s “treasure box” containing candy, pencils and toys for the students “if they’ve had a great week,” she said.
“The only things that were destroyed were the TV and the computer,” said Leslie, who found her computer hanging by its cord off her desk.
However, she said, nothing was stolen. Her document camera, Keurig coffee maker, microwave, mini fridge and other valuables were left untouched.
“They just went and grabbed some stuff and made a mess on the floor,” Leslie said of the vandals.
Leslie said she was unable to teach the second graders in her classroom on Monday, but added that the students will be back in the room Tuesday.
Oceano Elementary School and the Sheriff’s Office were reviewing security footage.
This story was originally published November 15, 2021 at 6:05 PM.
