A letter from Superintendent Tomlinson regarding the ongoing vandalism to the BPES nature trail

Dear neighbors,

Over the past several months, the nature trails on the Broadalbin-Perth Elementary School campus have been repeatedly vandalized. The district has rebuilt the signage on the trail several times, costing time, money, and effort. Despite the presence of security cameras throughout the property, including on the nature trails, the vandalism has continued.

Recently, the vandals escalated their activities, knocking over a portable toilet (porta-potty), spilling its contents on school grounds; removing some of the protective covering from the football goal post and throwing it into the woods; and wrapping barbed wire around some of the signage posts.

Thanks to our long-standing partnership with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, in particular Undersheriff Dan Izzo, the diligent work of our school resource officers, Nicole Buckley and Kyle Harris, and the cooperation of the Northville Police Department, I can report to you that the vandals have been apprehended. All but one of them is a juvenile.

The district will be holding all of these perpetrators accountable for restitution to the maximum extent possible under the law.

To all those individuals who might want to damage, deface, or otherwise do harm to Broadalbin-Perth school buildings or grounds, be warned: You will be caught, and you will be held accountable. We will not let you get away with disrespecting our schools or wasting taxpayer money to repair the damage you caused.

I want to once again thank all law enforcement officers involved for their work in bringing these vandals to justice. We are all grateful for your commitment to protecting the people and property of the Broadalbin-Perth Central School District.

Sincerely,

Stephen M. Tomlinson
Superintendent of Schools