Education Department officials have reviewed five days of security footage from St. Croix’s Central High School to try to identify burglars who stole technical equipment over Thanksgiving weekend and, having inventoried all the equipment, losses were significantly less than originally projected.
Initially thought to be about $300,000, the Education Department announced in a press release that a more thorough assessment shows the equipment taken from the school, in fact, totals about $21,000. Among the stolen material are 24 specialized iPads, projectors and television equipment.
A clerical error during the original inventory process had each iPad valued at $12,990 (instead of an overall cost of $12,990), which resulted in the inflated cost, according to a statement from Education.
While Education officials are relieved the financial impact of the burglary was much less than expected, they are still appealing to community members for their help in recovering the equipment, which was to be used for a pilot program that was to be launched this week.
Education Commissioner LaVerne Terry said in a statement Friday: “With the department’s already strained budget, it is going to be difficult for us to find the funds to replace what was stolen, and most importantly, without the equipment, the pilot program we had hoped to get up and running for the students will be indefinitely delayed.”
St. Croix Superintendent Gary Molloy recently explained that while the areas in which the equipment was kept were secured and monitored by surveillance cameras, perpetrators were able to gain entry by cutting through bars on classroom doors and windows.
“We believe that this was a targeted act,” Molloy said recently. “The individuals responsible for this came prepared with the tools and the transportation necessary to remove this equipment, and we are asking anyone that may have seen anything over the Thanksgiving break to report that information to authorities as soon as possible so that we may be able to recover this equipment.”
Each piece of equipment bears a government tag. Anyone with information can help by calling 712-6075, 712-6035, 778-2211 or Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-TIPS.
