Stolen Memories : Theft of Computer and Database Imperils School’s Yearbook

Somebody stole the year from San Fernando High School. Due in just 12 days to the publisher, the computer discs storing text for the 1995-96 San Fernando High School yearbook were stolen last weekend, sending the young staff into a mad frenzy to recreate about half of the 300-page opus by deadline.

Burglars stole expensive camera equipment and a Macintosh computer, but more devastating was the loss of about two dozen floppy discs that stored the entire text for the school’s yearbook, scheduled to be distributed in June. If they miss the deadline, the book might not be ready before school lets out for the summer.

This year’s edition commemorates the school’s centennial and includes stories submitted by alumni about historical events, including the first high school football game in the Valley, played between San Fernando High and Inglewood High in 1914, administrators said. (For the record, San Fernando was shut out, 130-0.)

Since the theft, students have been working frantically during school hours and late into the night, and will devote their next two weekends to the project, said yearbook editor Roger Ponce, a sophomore from Sylmar.

The school is offering a reward for information leading to recovery of the discs.

“It’s so sad,” said Assistant Principal Barbara Garry. “For anybody who’s ever worked on a school yearbook or newspaper, and poured their heart into it, to lose it all so close to the deadline . . . At this point, we don’t care about the Macintosh or other stuff, though we don’t have money to replace it. Just give us our discs, please.”

Although photographs of the school’s 3,200 students had already been sent to the publisher, every story, photo caption, headline and other piece of copy written after Christmas break must be redone, said yearbook advisor Ivan Cheng. Luckily, between 50% to 60% of the text, including the special historical section prepared by students before the break, had already been sent off to the publisher, Cheng said.

But gone are stories about special education programs, the triumphs and defeats of the soccer, basketball and wrestling squads, homecoming and interviews with faculty and student academic leaders, said Cheng, who discovered the burglary when he walked into Room 240 on Monday morning.

“My stomach just dropped out,” said Cheng, a math teacher.

The stories can be rewritten, but other elements will be tougher to replace, including an indexed roster of the school’s 3,000-plus student body and several hundred faculty members, Cheng said.

Cheng added that some yearbook archives, including information used to put together the last four yearbooks, also were stored on stolen computer records.

San Fernando’s past yearbook editions have won accolades from both the Columbia Scholastic Press Assn. and the National Scholastic Press Assn., but this year’s book was special because of the school’s 100th anniversary, administrators said. Only two other high schools in Los Angeles are older.

“All those long hours, all the extra work we put in,” said Ponce, the yearbook editor. “We were heartbroken. I don’t really care if they catch the people who did it. Right now, we all just want to get it done.”

The investigation of the theft is being handled by the Los Angeles Unified School District police. So far, there are no leads.