By Mary O’KEEFE

Fremont Elementary School was burglarized sometime between the night of Sept. 8 and the morning of Sept. 9 with an estimated $10,000 worth of computer equipment taken.

Glendale police found that 14 classrooms had their windows shattered or opened by other means.

The eastern portion of the campus was closed to students and staff while police conducted an investigation. They discovered that the only items that appeared to have been stolen were computer equipment.

A total of 11 iMac desktops were stolen along with one Apple PowerMac monitor.

“We are okay,” said Fremont principal Christin Walley. “Teachers are getting by.”

The school’s teachers used the stolen computers.

Walley said there was no personal information about the students on any of the stolen computers. A few students were a little shaken after the burglaries. The classrooms affected were closed to students during that day, and the kids had to meet in the auditorium.

“We told them it happened during the night, not during the day and they were not in danger. We are very safe here,” Walley said.

The district has insurance and many good Samaritans have stepped forward including a parent who offered to replace the computers, and a company from San Diego that also offered to help.

“That has been wonderful,” Walley said.

The investigation is ongoing. Police found rocks and bricks taken from a nearby school garden beneath the classroom windows that had apparently been used to shatter the windows. A computer cord and Apple mouse were found tangled in a fence on the south side of the school near the intersection of Paloma Avenue and Glencoe Way. This appeared to be how the suspect/suspects entered and exited the campus.

The school had a Back to School Night on Sept. 8 that ended at 8 p.m. Walley said that the last person left the campus at 11 p.m.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Glendale Police Department at (818) 548-4840. If anyone would like to help the school replace their loss contact Principal Christin Walley at (818) 249-3241.

  Mary Okeefe