Manchester schools to seek $30k from vandals

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx ... 4959db1bac

Manchester schools to seek $30k from vandals
By RILEY YATES
Union Leader Staff
Wednesday, Sep. 6, 2006


Manchester – The Manchester school district hopes to send a message to vandals: You will be caught and pay for damages.

A committee voted last week to seek restitution from the culprits behind a July fire at Memorial High School's Clem Lemire field in which pole vault mats were lit on fire, warping metal rods that hold the bar and blistering rubber around the track.

But standing in the way of the effort is state law that the city's insurance chief says lacks the power to hold the parents of underage perpetrators responsible, as some communities in other states can.

"The harsh reality is that there aren't really any teeth in the statute to expect a full reimbursement at this point," said Risk Manager Harry Ntapalis.


Manchester schools aren't exactly new to graffiti and vandalism. But this time, officials say the estimated $30,000 in damages is too great for taxpayers to swallow.

"They've caught the people that did it," said Dave Gelinas, a Ward 7 school board member who says he sponsored the two-decade old law that allows the city to try to recoup damages. "I think as a group we're just tired of it. It's time to put our foot down."

In August, police arrested the two people they believe are responsible for the July 24 fire, which was sparked during the afternoon during summer vacation. They are now being processed through the juvenile court system.

Ntapalis said he plans to work with prosecutors to ask the judge to order restitution.

In the past, Manchester has successfully sought compensation for auto accidents involving city property, he said, with judges ordering the gradual payment of the amount owed.

But Ntapalis said $30,000 is the highest payback he can remember Manchester looking for. And he doubted whether children would have the bank accounts or the jobs to cover it, since the city can't target their parents.

"It would take that level of responsibility to turn those kind of numbers around," said Ntapalis, who noted Dade County, Fla., enacted such legislation after problems with vandalism.

The mats, which weigh 1,300 pounds, cost $14,000 to replace. The heat was so intense it melted part of a nearby fence and left part of the asphalt charcoal colored.

"As far as this kind of vandalism, I haven't seen anything like it for a long, long time," said Principal Arthur Adamakos. "This is such a significant sum for the taxpayers to have to pay for."

The principal said given a lean school budget and the cost of damages, school officials felt it was important to recoup the money. The most common vandalism, graffiti, can by contrast be painted over for a relatively minimal cost, he said.

"You wouldn't believe how much it melted," Adamakos said. "There was nothing left."

Gelinas was flushed with nostalgia last week after the vote.

Back in 1982, he said, he introduced legislation that enabled cities and towns to seek restitution for vandalism, a law he says did aim to allow communities to go after parents.

It was in his second to last term as a state representative and Manchester was suffering another string of vandalism at the time, he said.

The bill had been proposed a couple times previously, but didn't have momentum before, Gelinas said.

"First time that I know of that the school board is going to use it," Gelinas said of his 24-year-old law.

Art Beaudry of Ward 9, the chairman of the Building and Sites Committee, said he wishes school officials had sought restitution in past damages. He cited vandalism several months ago at Central High School, which he said was well-documented and photographed.

"I would have liked to seek reimbursement for the graffiti in the bathroom of Central, when they caught that student," Beaudry said.

[rainbowgirl28]

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx ... ae4ee96d39

MEMORIAL - Damage estimates for a July fire at Memorial High School's Clem Lemire field have jumped by a third.

The fire occurred when vandals set on fire track pole-vault mats in a blaze that warped metal rods that hold the bar and blistered rubber around the track.

The district originally tabbed damages at $30,000.

But in a memo to the Building and Sites Committee, district business administrator Karen DeFrancis said new estimates have come in $10,000 higher.

Two juveniles have been arrested in connection with the fire. School officials hope a judge will order them to pay restitution for damages, though the city's insurance chief has raised questions about whether the money can be recouped.

[newPVer]

wow, they should have to pay for everything on their own, and then serve the time. what were they trying to proove?

[JumpinSkiing]

Yeah, i've vaulted there, that's a shame.