An elementary school in Port Orange was vandalized over the weekend, according to police.

  • Horizon Elementary vandalized over the weekend
  • School employee discovered the damage Tuesday
  • Investigators are trying to determine extent of the damage

Officers were called to Horizon Elementary School on Hidden Lake Drive on Tuesday.

School administrators said a school employee first discovered the vandalism Tuesday morning just before teachers and students returned from the three-day holiday weekend.

Horizon Elementary’s principal sent out a message to all parents saying that 18 of the school’s classrooms were damaged. This affected 360 student, nearly half of the school’s enrollment.

The vandalism was so severe school administrators had to move nearly half of the schools’ students to other areas of the school for classes on Tuesday while they assessed the damage and began the process of cleaning up.

Port Orange police are investigating the vandalism, but there’s still no word on who did it or why.

“(I’m) disgusted and disappointed that somebody would do that to classrooms,” said parent Cassie Reyes.

“And as a teacher and a mom, just why would you mess with somebody’s classroom and their learning environment, because now, instead of the teacher being about whatever she was going to do today, you have to change it when you’re not in your own classroom,” she added.

Volusia County school administrators said cleanup crews working at the school on Tuesday were able to get five of the 18 classrooms damaged back up and running. But they said it will likely take the rest of the week at least to get the rest ready for classroom instruction again.

A school district spokesperson said the local community is rallying around the school, including Walmart donating supplies to the school.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police at 386-506-5801.