ARSON DESTROYS CLASSROOM\Pacoima Middle School pupils start collection for reward fund.

Byline: Terri Hardy Daily News Staff Writer

An intentionally set fire gutted a special education classroom at Pacoima Middle School early Thursday, causing $100,000 in damage and sparking the ire of students who began building a reward fund to catch the people responsible.

By the end of the day they had collected $240.

"It's not right for anyone to go to a school and destroy it - I can't describe how much anger I feel," said 13-year-old Jennifer Humphries.

Humphries and the rest of the school's National Guard Cadets agreed to give $50 of money saved from a recent fund-raiser toward a reward.

Pacoima Middle School Principal Maria Wale said everybody was upset about the intentional destruction.

"We've got a lot of leads, and we hope with the help of students we'll solve this soon," she said.

Los Angeles City Fire Department Capt. Leonard Thompson said the arson gutted one room and damaged another in the center of campus. He said the fire began at 3:15 a.m.

A neighbor reported seeing three "suspicious" people in the area at the time, Wale said.

During first period, students were given pieces of paper and told to write down any information they had. They were not required to use their names, Wale said.

As workers began to clear the charred remains, students and staff struggled to understand the motive for the arson.

Said 14-year-old Elizabeth Wright, "It's hard to believe they set a fire to a building, and watched it burn - why did they do it?"

Los Angeles Unified School District officials said they would provide bungalows for classes until the rooms can be repaired.

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Environmental health specialist Mike Zimmerman heads through the charred remains of a classroom at Pacoima Middle School. David Sprague/Daily News