Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Workers Continue Repairs at Vandalized Day-Care Center

A day-care center vandalized over the weekend was still being cleaned up Tuesday, with workers removing the mixture of food, glue, paint and other substances flung in all directions.

“It was like a bomb went off,” Principal Janet Wiese said. “Every single surface was literally covered with an inch or two.”

The vandals apparently got into the building at Skyblue Mesa Elementary School in Canyon Country on Saturday night by using a crowbar to smash a window on a door, Wiese said. Once inside, they broke ceiling panels, tore doors off cupboards and splattered a variety of substances over everything from the carpet to the ceiling tiles.

“They took fruit punch syrup and poured it inside the computer and printer,” she said. “Then they took rice and beans, used for all sorts of craft activities, and then they poured that on top.”

A portable stereo was stolen, but the condition of the room made it hard to determine if anything else was taken, Wiese added. Damages are estimated to be at least $12,000, she said, not including the cost of the cleanup.

A clock thrown from the wall stopped at 10:55 p.m., which is when officials believe the vandalism occurred, according to a Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station report.

The vandals are still at large. Students at a nearby junior high school have identified three of their classmates, who used to attend the elementary school, as being responsible for the vandalism, according to the police report. However, the youths are not yet considered suspects, police officials said.

Day-care sessions, scheduled to begin Monday in the building, will be held in the school’s multipurpose room. Wiese said she expects the day-care center to reopen by the end of the week.

Workers used shovels to clean up the mess and then began replacing ceiling tiles and repolishing the floor.

The Saugus Union School District is offering a $300 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the vandals, Wiese said.