PS 35 In The Bronx Falls Victim To Laptop Thieves
NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- As New York City school children get ready to go back to class, some of them may be without computers they desperately need. Burglars swiped dozens of school laptops and cameras from a public school in the Bronx.
PS 35 in Morrisania, a neighborhood where people can't afford to lose anything, became victim to a break in and theft over the weekend.
The thieves are believed to have broken in through a side window, where a lock was broken.
CBS 2's John Slattery reports that 24 laptop were stolen -- 3 of which were later found smashed outside the school. In addition, ten Macintosh computers and ten digital cameras were also stolen bringing the total value of the stolen goods to upwards of $30,000.
"That's just not really nice to the kids," one student told Slattery.
"It's a very serious, disrespectful crime," another student said.
Slattery reports the laptops were all tied in to smart boards, one of the latest technology tools which replaced chalkboards, but they can only be used with the computers.
And while not all of the school's computers were taken, the ones stolen were of critical importance.
"This is extremely serious especially because many of the laptops taken, the teachers use to plan their instruction. We instruct through the smart boards," principal Graciela Navarro said.
At a time when some schools are asking students to provide pencils, paper and basic supplies, the school doesn't have the budget to replace them.
"It's unfortunate for all the students who actually need these things when they come back to school," parent Jasmine Caccavelli said.
To make matters worse, PS 35 had no security cameras either inside or outside of the building.
