Waimea College, Garin College and Salisbury School have all been hit with “acts of stupidity” over the summer break and new Waimea College Principal, Scott Haines is frustrated.
The three schools have been subject to graffiti and attempted arson over the school holidays and the culprits have yet to be caught.
Scott says Waimea College has already been hit three times.
“The latest was graffiti on our school gates but we had an attempted arson event some stage between Christmas and New Years where a small fire was set up against one of the buildings in the heart of the school, that’s the most concerning of the three.”
Scott says he is really disappointed and frustrated.
“Schools exist to meet the needs of our community and to serve the people around us, it’s no surprise that the schools aren’t funded at the level they need to be and each of these events just takes money away from students in classrooms and detracts from our ability to make a difference for the kids.”
“These acts of stupidity end up costing the school but ultimately end up costing students, it’s not cool.”
All three incidents were photographed and reported to the police and the school’s insurance company but no one has been found responsible. Staff have considered and dismissed the possibility that the incidents were caused by students.
“We don’t believe that these events have been caused by Waimea College students because the events have been quite wide in terms of their distribution,” says Scott.
“I understand that a number of schools around the area have suffered this sort of event during the holiday period, Waimea College isn’t being targeted specifically, it’s just a random act of stupidity that is occurring across a number of different campuses.”
