Vandals cause $300,000 damage to Portland, Ore., high school

Teens believed to be from other schools flooded a section of Roosevelt High School.

Vandals from another school caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage at Roosevelt High School in Portland, Ore, during a basketball tournament earlier this month.

KOIN-TV reports that video cameras captured images of students breaking into a second-floor science classroom on Oct. 15 and turning on an emergency eye-wash shower. The water gushed for hours before a coach spotted water on the ground floor.

The water caused massive damage to the walls, floors, elevators, computers, student and teacher property, six classrooms and three offices.

“We looked at the video and were able to see that they did it on purpose and were not our students,” Roosevelt Principal Filip Hristic says.

School officials say it will take several weeks for the damage to be cleaned up and repaired. Temporary classrooms have been set up in gyms and in a school food pantry.

The facility sustained an estimated $300,000 in damages, The Portland Oregonian reports. Roosevelt is in the midst of a $92 million renovation that is scheduled for completion in 2017.

Video from KOIN-TV:

About the Author

Mike Kennedy

Senior Editor

Mike Kennedy has been writing about education for American School & University since 1999. He also has reported on schools and other topics for The Chicago Tribune, The Kansas City Star, The Kansas City Times and City News Bureau of Chicago. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.

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