POLICE INVESTIGATING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BURGLARY

Norman G. Ambrosini Elementary School in Fortuna is finding ways to continue their curriculum after a burglary on Saturday night.
 
Four laptops were taken out of classrooms, leaving teachers without their materials, but Principal Amy Betts said everyone has been very flexible.
 
“All of the teachers just came together and gathered materials that they could use to teach today,” Betts said.
 
Sergeant Charles Ellebrecht said rocks were used to break the windows of the classrooms and that students had to be relocated due to the hazard.
 
“The condition of the classrooms wasn't fit for students,” Ellebrecht said. “There was a large amount of glass all over and other debris as a result.” 
 
The four laptops were the big-ticket items, but Betts said other things were also taken.
 
“Some money that teachers had in there that she used for math,” Betts said.
 
The value of items stolen and the required clean up will be costly, but Betts said the toll on the students is much more.
 
“We are running on a tight budget to now not having those computers in our classroom — you know we rely heavily on technology today,” Betts said. “It’s just really hard and I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
 
Police took fingerprints and will continue to look at the school's surveillance video.
 
“At this point we are going to examine the late prints,” Ellebrecht said. “To see if we can find a match on the prints as well as afford the other DNA evidence for processing, see if we can match something that way.”
 
The Fortuna Police Department is asking anyone who may have information on the burglary to call the department’s WeTip hotline at 1(800)78-CRIME.
 
Callers will remain anonymous and could receive a cash reward if the information given leads to an arrest and conviction.