Computer Thefts Top $40K in Brookline Schools

Brookline school officials are trying to figure how to replace more than 30 computers after the machines were swiped from two Brookline schools in January.

The latest theft came Jan. 26, when somebody broke into a computer lab at Brookline High and stole 12 laptops from a locked cart. The heist came less than two weeks after 21 laptop and desktop computers were from a classroom at the Baker School.

Deputy Superintendent Peter Rowe said the schools have back-up computers in place and officials are trying to figure out how to replace the stolen machines. Rowe said the stolen machines have been valued at more than $40,000 and were not insured against theft.

“At the moment, we’re operating without access to full equipment, but we’re working on ways to restore that and get ourselves back to where we should be,” he said.

Police say the latest theft took place sometime before 8 a.m. on Jan. 26, possibly while several events, including a basketball game and adult education classes, were taking place. An instructor reportedly secured the computer lab around 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 25.

School officials reportedly found pry marks and a missing pane of glass on the door to the room the next morning. The thief also cut a pad lock on a metal cabinet and stolen 12 Hewlett Packard laptops inside.

The theft marks the third time in the last year that computers have been stolen from Brookline schools, coming less than a year since a heist at the Baker School. Rowe said officials are looking at taking new security measures to deter theft, but declined to comment on the options being considered.

Brookline currently does not use surveillance cameras in any of its public schools.