Vandals have smashed 14 solar panels and more than a dozen windows at Reynolds Secondary School — damage that will cost upwards of $28,000 to fix.
Janitorial staff arrived at the Saanich school Thursday morning to find 15 windows at the front of the building smashed and solar panels on the second-storey roof badly damaged. Saanich police believe the vandalism happened Wednesday night, with the culprits using concrete blocks to do the damage.
The solar panels, valued at $26,000, were installed four years ago, donated by Solar B.C. to recognize the school’s participation in the B.C. Green Games.
“They were installed as part of a program that took two classrooms off the grid and allowed students to participate in monitoring energy savings and energy use within the schools,” said Seamus Howley, director of facilities for the Greater Victoria School District. “So that program is on hold right now.”
Howley said administrators have to assess if the solar panels can be fixed or if they have to be replaced. The windows have to be replaced and that adds another $2,000 or more to the bill, Howley said.
“It's a terrible waste of educational resources to have to spend money on this type of vandalism,” Howley said. “I’m sure it would be upsetting and disappointing for the kids.”
Saanich police investigators were on scene Thursday looking for evidence or fingerprints. The school does not have surveillance cameras and police don’t know if the vandals were Reynolds students.
So far, no witnesses have come forward. Anyone with information about the vandalism should call Saanich police at 250-475-4321.
