HELENA — Several months ago, two teens were taken into custody after two schools in East Helena were vandalized, causing thousands of dollars worth of damages.
MTN News talked Dan Rispens, the superintendent of East Helena Public Schools, about the repairs that took place and what steps they’re taking to increase school security.
“It was just really disheartening, you know, just like if somebody broke into your house. For a lot of the employees here and the kids here, they felt violated. And we’ve just worked really hard to get past that and move forward and stay positive,” says Rispens.
On Saturday, April 20, individuals broke into East Valley Middle School and Radley Elementary causing severe damage to computer screens, smartboards, toilets, and more. Money and students’ prescriptions were also stolen.
Shortly after the incident, two 15-year-olds were taken into custody.
“The school district took disciplinary action in relation to that. I mean, ultimately our number one hope is that they learn from this pretty serious mistake and try to do better later in life and improve,” says Rispens.
Repairs have been in the works over the summer. And while there are a few last-minute touches to get things such as smart boards and message boards installed, broken glass has been repaired, toilets fixed, the schools have undergone deep cleaning, and security has been bolstered.
“We have added some video surveillance cameras, and I will say that was our number one tool in figuring out who did it and what they did and who was involved,” says Rispens.
Rispens estimates the damages will be anywhere from $100,000 to $150,000 and tells MTN insurance should cover most of it except their $5,000 deductible.
“We’ll be reporting all that information to the courts and the insurance company actually I think will help us with that. And the two kids who are involved in it, there may be judgments involved related to that. So, we’ll see,” says Rispens.
Because of the support from the community through contractors and volunteers, the district was able to reopen the schools quickly last spring to usher students back in.
“And we just can’t say thank you enough to the East Helena community for the support that they’ve provided for the schools,” says Rispens.
