More Band Instruments Stolen

This is really starting to become an epidemic around here:

Sycamore Junior High leaders are seeking the public's help to replace $25,000 in school band instruments stolen some time over the weekend.

The more than 20 stolen items include tubas, baritones, trumpets, saxophones and drums. The theft has left the campus without any instruments for music classes and for the afterschool the band program, Principal Joe Carmona said.

"Our students are really, really upset. They don't understand how someone could do something like this to a school," he said.

The theft was discovered Monday morning, when staff arrived at the campus and discovered the doors to the music room had been pried open after everyone left on Friday. Inside, storage units were forced open, with the music instruments missing.

"They obviously knew exactly what they were looking for," Carmona said. "They walked past computers and LCD projectors and headed straight for the instruments."

Across the region, theft of music instruments has become a growing trend. Earlier this month, Southgate High School had several tubas worth $13,000 stolen. Huntington Park High School also reported tubas stolen this month.

Tubas alone can cost between $5,000 for those in excellent condition to $2,000 for ones with dents and signs of wear, music teachers said.

Schools are going to have to a better job of locking all that stuff up. With budget cuts they certainly can't afford to replace a lot of expensive instruments.