Classes resumed across many North Texas schools Tuesday morning, but one Fort Worth public charter school made a pricey discovery on Monday.
When teachers returned to work, they noticed the heat and air conditioning wasn't working and they soon made a significant discovery on the roof.
"We lost 375 feet of copper up there, so pretty significant," said Clint Riley, executive director for the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts and Texas Boys Choir.
Sometimes over the holiday and winter break, thieves climbed onto the roof of the school and stripped the heating and air conditioning system of copper.
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"All the drainage pipes were hit, taken off for the copper," Riley said.
The good news is that the school is covered in surveillance cameras. Employees are now searching over the last two weeks in hopes of finding the culprits in action. The bad news is the damage will cost around $5,000 to repair.
"We're really looking at amounts that come directly out of operations, meaning taking away from the classroom and taking away from providing training to our students," Riley said.
But FWAFA isn't alone, as two places of worship across the street on South Hulen Street were also hit by copper thieves in the last few weeks.
According to Fort Worth Police reports, Arborlawn United Methodist Church reported two copper thefts last month, one on Dec. 17 and another on Dec. 20.
On Dec. 23, Beth-El Congregation also filed a police report after its air conditioning maintenance company discovered the damage during a routine service inspection.
"If it was summer and we needed the a/c we'd have been out of luck," said Susie Koonsman, Beth-El Congregation's administrator.
Koonsman says they think they were hit the weekend before Christmas, based on some evidence found on the roof by the maintenance team. The temple does have surveillance cameras, but mostly to watch the doors and not the roof.
"And we do have some cameras, but they're (the thieves) smart, they know how to get around that," Koonsman said.
Just like FWAFA, Beth-El Congregation reported the copper drain lines were cut for the copper.
Koonsman says it's the worst damage anyone has caused to its facility since they moved there a number of years ago.
"It is disappointing and very discouraging," she said.
The FWAFA is a public non-profit charter school that relies on donations and fundraisers, in addition to its state money, to operate. The school is presently set for a fundraiser this weekend, featuring the faculty of the school.
"Right now we're working on trying to improve the lighting and the sound equipment in our theater," Riley said.
Now, they'll need to help find a way to pay for the damage.
"It's just unfortunate," Riley said. "You know, all of us as business people, as home owners, we're all paying for this."
The academy's other campus, the Texas School for the Arts in Edgecliff Village, was also hit by copper thieves in December, but the damage there was more significant.
Fort Worth Police is investigating the copper thefts in the 3900 block of South Hulen Street.
Anyone with information about who might be responsible can call the non-emergency line at 817-335-4222 or Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS (8477). Police also say if you see suspicious activity to call 911.
