By Ali Boan, Executive Editor
Broken keys, screens that don’t work and shortage of battery life. Sound familiar? It should. It was the subject of administrative visits in December to every second-block classroom.
The vandalism to the library laptops caused Assistant Principals Diane McFarlin and Ian Smith to request students to turn in their peers if they saw any evidence of them vandalizing the laptops. The vandalized laptops have now been repaired, librarian Lorna Code said, but no one has turned the culprits in.
“Students were ripping apart parts of the keyboard, which is irreplaceable, therefore making it so an entirely new keyboard has to be purchased, making it equivalent to around $100,” Smith said.
If the newly-repaired laptops are damaged again, Smith said there will be consequences.
“If this continues to happen, we’re going to get to a point where we’re not going to have the laptop carts available anymore, which will take away a lot of learning opportunities for students, and if we find out someone is deliberately vandalizing them, we’ll follow the handbook rules, which could possibly result in restitution,” Smith said.
Deliberate vandalism of the computers has never been seen before in such high numbers at KHS, Code said.
“If it continues to happen, we’re going to have to go back to a more strict sign-out policy, which takes time away from class,” Code said. “Teachers are just going to have to be more attentive and watch the kids more carefully.”
The technology department repaired the laptops, but it cost the district thousands, Smith said. He said that each keyboard costs $100, and there is also the cost of the repair work.
Director of Technology Tim Wolf said that, of the 42 damaged computers, 30 keyboards had to be replaced. The other dozen damaged keyboards were repaired with salvaged parts from older computers.
Sophomore Katie Taylor said the laptop vandalism happens “because students think it’s funny.” Taylor said she doesn’t foresee the vandals being caught.
Since the administration’s request to report other students for vandalizing the laptop computers, no further vandalism has occurred.