Burglars Vandalize Canoga Park School

Burglars vandalized five classrooms in a Canoga Park elementary school over the weekend, forcing some classes to be held in the school library, the school’s principal said Tuesday.

It was the latest in a series of break-ins and burglaries at San Fernando Valley schools.

Fire extinguishers were sprayed over walls and floors, desks were ransacked and paint was splattered, causing an estimated $5,000 in damage at Hart Street Elementary School, said Principal Diana Villafana.

It took employees two days to clean up the mess, Villafana said. Teachers were forced to hold four first-grade classes and one second-grade class in the library and in two unused classrooms on Monday and Tuesday, she said.

Los Angeles Unified School District police noticed broken windows in four classrooms during a routine patrol about 4 a.m. Monday, Villafana said. The break-in occurred either late Sunday or early Monday, she said.

No items of substantial value were stolen, Villafana said, but some school supplies were missing.

No arrests had been made, school district police Sgt. Robert Leder said Tuesday.

It was the latest in a series of attacks within the past month at Valley schools, including a burglary and fire at Mt. Gleason Junior High School in Tujunga, a break-in by vandals who caused $37,000 in damages at Colfax Avenue Elementary School in North Hollywood and the theft of an $8,000 sound system last week from Olive Vista Junior High School in Sylmar.