CLEVELAND — One day after five vehicles were broken into at Sunbeam School in Cleveland, almost every teacher — and three quarters of the staff — called off work Thursday, according to a statement from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
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The statement said 94% of general education teachers and 75% of all Sunbeam staff called off work.
The statement said the elementary school serves more than 80 students who require specialized care.
Administrators worked through the night on Wednesday to find substitute teachers but it had no alternative other than to close Sunbeam Thursday.
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Union defends teachers
Cleveland Teachers Union President Errol Savage defended Sunbeam's staff.
"Teachers would be in the classrooms if they were not physically ill from being emotionally upset from feeling physically unsafe," Savage said.
Savage said vehicles were also broken into at Sunbeam this spring.
He also said there were reports of gunshots yesterday.
Cleveland police said officers did not find shell casings or other evidence shots were fired.
"The district and the city need to partner and come up with solutions to prevent cars from being attacked during the school day during broad daylight," Savage said.
Council President reax
"This is a safe place," Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin said during a news conference in front of the school Thursday.
"We're going to continue to work with the community. We're going to continue to work with the police department to make sure that the teachers are safe," he said.
He also said it was stressful for students and their families to receive a robocall at midnight informing them the school was closed Thursday.
"Sixty-six percent of this area are single-parent heads of household. [They] didn't have the luxury to take off today, so this caused a tremendous amount of trauma to them," he said.
When asked about the impact on parents, Savage said, "I think the parents realize that this was a dangerous situation, and they want their children to be safe."
Griffin said a gate will be installed to limit access to the staff parking lot at Sunbeam.
He also said the city will work with CMSD to make all schools safer.
He said Sunbeam School is expected to be open tomorrow.
Suspect arrested
Cleveland police said they arrested a 26-year-old man in connection with the break-ins at Sunbeam.
The windows of the vehicles were smashed, but, so far, it doesn't appear any items were stolen, according to police.
A police spokesperson said the department used its helicopter to identify and arrest the suspect. The suspect ran, but was quickly apprehended by officers, he said.
Police said the suspect was carrying a firearm, driving a car that had been reported stolen in Eastlake, and is a suspect in vehicle break-ins in Garfield Heights.
CMSD statement
Below is the full statement from CMSD:
"As has been reported by the Cleveland Division of Police, 5-6 vehicle windows in the Sunbeam staff parking area were damaged on Wednesday. Fortunately, no one was injured, and to our current knowledge, no cars were entered or had items stolen. In response to staff’s expressed safety concerns, we postponed Wednesday evening's Open House to allow the Cleveland Division of Police and CMSD Safety and Security personnel to thoroughly investigate the situation.
Closure is always the last resort, but unfortunately, we had to close Sunbeam School for Thursday, Sept. 10, when 94% of general education teachers called off work. In all, 75% of all Sunbeam staff called off. Sunbeam serves more than 80 scholars who require specialized care. Administrators worked through the night on Wednesday to find alternative classroom supervisors, whether substitutes or other District personnel. However, in this instance, we had no alternative but to close.
We are taking this matter very seriously. We continue to work closely with the Cleveland Division of Police as they investigate yesterday's incident at Sunbeam School. District 4 Commander Smith is leading the investigation. As of now, it appears Sunbeam was not targeted specifically; this was one of multiple related criminal acts across the ward which impacted several properties and led to at least one arrest so far.
We are continuing to work with the City of Cleveland to monitor neighborhood issues and keep our school community safe. Additionally, the District had already begun work to install a gate to limit access to the staff parking area. "
