WESTMINSTER : School Vandal Watch Program Imperiled

Westminster School District officials are considering whether to end the “Vandal Watch� program next year, a proposal that would force 10 workers living on campuses rent-free to move.

Under the district staff proposal, fences, improved lighting and state-of-the-art alarm systems would replace the worker-tenants whose presence on campus is intended to deter vandals, said assistant Supt. Barbara Winars.

Begun as a trial program at Midway City School in 1980, Vandal Watch now includes 10 campuses. In return for free rent and utilities in mobile homes on campuses, tenants patrol their schools daily for signs of graffiti and vandalism.

However, new security improvements which should be in place by mid-1994 and changes in night custodian staffing will make the program obsolete. Further, the district could be liable if a tenant were injured, Winars said.

Several tenants asked the Board of Trustees on Thursday to reject the proposal, saying that the program is effective at reducing vandalism and that forcing tenants to move would cause them financial hardship.

Board members said they did not have enough information to make a decision and requested staff to provide more information on the program’s effectiveness.

The board will reconsider the proposal on Sept. 16.