The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has seen 171 incidents of burglary and vandalism on its campuses already this school year, which began on Aug. 12. District officials say the crime spree has cost the district millions of dollars in damages.
LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho held a news conference on Monday in South Los Angeles at Wadsworth Avenue Elementary, which has been burglarized six times since July. Just last weekend, classrooms were ransacked once again.
Footage of the most recent break-in shows chairs knocked over and school supplies thrown onto the floor. Devices used by students for learning purposes were stolen or damaged. Twenty-four classrooms in total were broken into.
The superintendent said the recent break-in caused approximately $115,000 worth of damage.
“It breaks my heart, and quite frankly it infuriates me, to know that a school like this one—that often struggles for the resources the parents and students need—would be burglarized, would be vandalized, would be stolen from six different times since July,” he said, adding that doors will have to be replaced and the entire system re-keyed. The school is currently installing surveillance cameras.
More than 60 percent of the buildings in LAUSD are more than 50 years old, and at least 10 percent of them are over 100 years old, Carvalho said.
Depleting the District’s General Fund
In incidents of vandalism and burglary over the fall 2024 semester alone, school district property has been defaced, catalytic converters from buses stolen, copper stolen, and air conditioning units damaged, Carvalho said.He conjectures that LAUSD has already spent millions replacing stolen equipment and repairing damage.
LAUSD is the largest school district in California and the second largest in the country after New York City. The California Department of Education lists the district’s enrollment at about 530,000 students.
“This means that we’re having to use general fund money to pay for damage or to replace equipment when those dollars need to be invested in the classroom,” Carvalho said.
LA School Police Department Defunded
The rising crime at district campuses comes in the wake of budget cuts for the police department dedicated to patrolling the campuses. In 2020, the Los Angeles Board of Education slashed funding for the Los Angeles School Police (LASPD) in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.The board cut the budget by $25 million, a 35 percent reduction. The money was then used to pay for staff to serve the needs of black students, as well as a task force to examine school safety.
Moreover, the board ordered LASPD’s 460 officers to stay off campuses and out of uniform until their role could be reassessed.
“The school board’s action is a huge first step in the campaign for police-free schools and ground-breaking in terms of our movement for supporting Black lives in our schools,” United Teachers Los Angeles President Cecily Myart-Cruz said in a statement at the time.
Proponents of cutting the LASPD budget cited a University of California–Los Angeles study arguing that LASPD police officers disproportionately detained and cited black students in school.
Opponents of cutting the funding said police in schools are trained to deescalate tensions and protect campuses from threats such as mass shootings.
Measure US: Local Public Schools Safety
In the recent Nov. 5 election, Los Angeles County voters passed a measure for safety upgrades to district campuses—the “local public schools safety and upgrades measure,” or Measure US.The facilities bond needed 55 percent of the vote to be approved and received 68 percent, earmarking $9 billion worth of safety measures and campus improvements, which include building upgrades for earthquake safety and accessibility.
Various sections of Measure US can be used to secure district sites. The bond project list includes upgrading or installing safety and security systems, exterior lighting, security alarms, video surveillance and monitoring, and emergency communications, among other improvements.
Police ask anyone who may have information about the burglaries and vandalism to contact LASPD or the LAPD.