OXNARD : Colonia Park Day-Care Center Burglarized for 3rd Time in Less Than 2 Weeks

Rosalie Rico planned to reopen a Colonia Park day-care center this week after it had been burglarized and vandalized twice over the holidays.

But when the preschool’s director arrived Wednesday morning, she found herself dealing with the aftermath of yet another break-in.

She discovered that burglars had taken the center’s television set and videotape recorder, claiming the last of the school’s valuables and completing a steady looting spree.

“All that is left are the children’s toys and the canned food,” said Rico, director of the Green Valley Child Development Center in Oxnard’s La Colonia neighborhood since 1989. “And I’m seriously considering asking my boss if we can pull that stuff out.”

It was a tough holiday season for Rico and her 55 preschoolers.

Burglars first broke into the day-care center between Dec. 24 and Dec. 27. Although they stole only a few Christmas presents, the intruders knocked over a toilet, causing the center to flood.

And on New Year’s Eve, while the preschool’s floor and walls were still drying out, Rico found that burglars had re-entered the building and taken a copy machine, radios, cameras, telephone, typewriter, calculator and office supplies.

“I thought it was over then,” Rico said. “I thought the TV and VCR were secure, but I guess the curiosity got to them.”

Burglars returned Tuesday night or early Wednesday and stole those items.

All together, the preschool has suffered $4,000 in flood damage, and lost more than $10,000 in equipment and supplies.

Rico said insurance should pay for repairing the damage and replacing most of the stolen items. Police said they have no suspects.

Since the building was flooded, a large sign has advised parents to take their children to a sister day-care center near Del Sol Park in La Colonia. That center, which is licensed for about 80 children, so far has been able to handle the additional preschoolers. But Rico said many of her students are vacationing with their parents in Mexico and there may not be space for them when they return.

The private, state-funded facility has cared for poor, mostly Latino students at the city-owned building at Colonia Park since the late 1970s, Rico said.

And despite the problems, Rico said she plans to move back into the preschool.

“I’m determined to move back, no matter how long it takes,” said Rico who has added a burglar alarm to her shopping list. “This is our school and we are servicing so many people who really need us.”