EAST HELENA — A pair of East Helena schools were vandalized over the weekend, with the damage so extensive at one school that classes were canceled on Monday. School will resume as scheduled on Tuesday.
East Helena School Superintendent Dan Rispens said in a social media post that Radley Elementary and East Valley Middle School saw significant damage over the weekend.
“Sometime during the evening of April 20, two of our schools were broken into and vandalized. The affected schools are Radley and EVMS. At Radley, the culprits vandalized the office, breaking glass out of doors and busting up computers. The damage at EVMS was much more extensive,” Rispens wrote.
EVMS saw broken windows and glass throughout the school causing a cancellation of classes on Monday, April 22 over safety concerns and allowing time for cleaning and some initial repairs.
“I apologize for the late timing of this notice. We were holding out hopes that we might be able to get things cleaned up at EVMS, but the magnitude of the damage is too great for us to safely host students there tomorrow,” Rispens wrote.
Anyone with information about the break-ins is encouraged to contact the Lewis and Clark Sheriff's Office through the non-emergency line (406) 447-8235 or the school district Central Office at 406-227-7700.
People looking to help on Monday can drop off snacks, meals and drinks and have "discussions with your children [about] the ramifications of such a senseless act."
