The break-ins at Schoharie Central School last month may prompt officials to add more surveillance cameras.
There was minimal damage in the September incident at the high school but the break-in turned into a major event when several police agencies, fire companies and ambulance squads responded, Superintendent Brian Sherman said.
Four juveniles broke into the school on September 22 and set off fire extinguishers in the halls.
Five teenagers were involved, one of whom remained outside, and officials used school surveillance cameras to make four arrests.
Three of those involved were SCS students, Mr. Sherman said.
Two of the three SCS students were identified through surveillance videos, he said.
The video shows the students entering, within, and exiting the building and the alarms going off due to a fire extinguisher setting off the smoke detectors.
Before the event, officials were discussing adding four more surveillance cameras on the campus, Mr. Sherman said.
The cameras cost about $2,000 and are state-aidable, he said.
Board members will get more information about the additional cameras at a future meeting.
Currently, the district has seven internal cameras (in plain sight) near the main entrances into the buildings.
Six cameras were installed three years ago, Mr. Sherman said, and the other was installed last year.
The installation was done as part of a previous capital project and the district received full state aid to cover the cost of each unit, he said.
The unit installed last year was for the entrance used by the Schoharie Village Police when they were housed in the elementary school after the flood.
That unit, Mr. Sherman said, is being moved to the high school entrance to accommodate convenient and secure entry by parents when a lockdown or lockout is in place.
There are signs to indicate the use of the cameras on several main doors, Mr. Sherman said, and, by regulation, the district notifies the unions of their use.
The cameras are not used to monitor staff or students in classrooms or other areas, he said.
The vandalism caused minimal damage to the school and with the help of three custodians, it took about a half a day to do the work, he said. The building was ready by Sunday afternoon.
One door had been damaged, the hall had to be cleaned because of the discharged fire extinguisher and the fire alarm company had to be called to clean out the alarms, Mr. Sherman said.
The lock on one door was taped to allow access to a part of the building that is normally inaccessible after regular school hours, Mr. Sherman said.
The three Schoharie students have been disciplined, he said.
The parents of the students were very cooperative, he said, and the students are aware of the seriousness of what they did.
"We've asked these students to talk about" the incident, Mr. Sherman told board members last week.
"They know it's a pretty serious event right now."
Board member Marion Jaqueway wondered if an assembly should be held with students to talk about such issues.
Mr. Sherman noted that one student came back with his parents 10 minutes after the incident to take blame.
Four of the juveniles were arrested on charges of burglary, criminal trespass and criminal mischief.
The arrests are being handled by the county probation department and the teenagers will be required to pay restitution for the damage, Mr. Sherman said.
The incident took place the same night as the flood relief concert in the county parking lot and with thousands of people in the village, Mr. Sherman said there was potential for more problems.
"It was a very dangerous situation for the people responding," Mr. Sherman said. "It had serious ramifications."