BURGLARS TARGET MEADOWS SCHOOL THIEVES TAKE CASH, CAMCORDER IN BREAK-IN.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Burglars ransacked Meadows Elementary School overnight Wednesday, getting away with a camcorder and petty cash in the campus's fourth break-in his year, authorities said.

The intruders rummaged through five classrooms, a teachers preparation room and the school office, taking a video camera and a small amount of cash, including $15 in student council funds and $6 deposited by students for a ``banking'' lesson, Principal Peggy O'Brien said Thursday.

``Things were strewn all over the classroom and offices, desks and cabinets have been wrangled thorough,'' she said. ``It looked pretty bad when we got here today.''

The intruders pried open a door to enter the main schoolhouse in the 25500 block of Fedala Road between 10 p.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday, sheriff's investigators said. Maintenance crews repaired the damage before pupils arrived Thursday morning.

``The sad thing is that (the pupils) feel very sad when they come to school,'' O'Brien said. ``They know things have been taken that belong to them.''

Sheriff's Lt. Bill Weiss said detectives are following a few leads, and urged area residents to keep an eye out for suspicious activity on the campus after hours.

``We are looking at a couple of different possibilities,'' he said. ``To pinpoint it to a certain group, that's a little premature. ... With schools where people aren't always around, I would suggest that people who see something to call us.''

The burglary was the second in three weeks at Meadows School.

A computer hard drive was stolen over the Nov. 5 weekend. In two separate break-ins in September, burglars stole a computer - later found on McBean Parkway - and broke into the computer lab. A multimedia projector was vandalized and parts from the school's wireless system were missing.

Another Newhall School District campus, Valencia Valley Elementary, also was burglarized during the Nov. 5 weekend. At least six classrooms were vandalized, and two laptop computers and more than 200 keys for the school were missing.

Newhall School District administrators are considering installing security systems and hiring night guards, said Michael Clear, assistant superintendent of business services.

``We are costing out what those options are,'' he said. ``Once we have developed a list of options, we will evaluate them and move forward.

``We would prefer to catch whoever is doing this. We are taking some steps right now to address the string of burglaries and break-ins, and trying to identify a long-term solution.''

Parent groups also are pitching in, O'Brien said.

``Our school site council has been proactive in allocating money for a security system,'' she said. ``We have a very strong school community and the parents feel very offended by it. We are going to be very watchful.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com