OVER the weekend, vandals had attacked J.E. Robins Elementary School on the West Side. They splashed paint and glitter on walls, floors and electronic equipment, defacing a school that a number of employees had spent all summer sprucing up.

It was a senseless act that required 10 custodians to respond. They worked from 7 a.m. Sunday until 1:30 a.m. Monday - and then came back on Monday - to try to undo the damage in time for the start of the new school year next week.

Police have a number of suspects at this point, but because juveniles are involved, there is little likelihood the general public will learn who did this to the staff and students at J.E. Robins.

So much for holding anyone accountable. And so much for being deterring crime.

Woodrow Wilson High School in Raleigh County was damaged in May by vandals who spray-painted racial slurs and profanities.

Also in May, four Hedgesville High School students vandalized 85 buses and shut down the Berkeley County school system for a day. Three of the accused were not identified because they were not yet 18.

Greenbrier County schools suffered repeated vandalism in 2006.

The public has had enough of this. Juveniles feel free to indulge in crimes against society because society no longer holds them accountable for their acts.

Anyone old enough to damage public property and shut down a school system for a day is old enough to face the music - publicly.

Vandalizing public schools is not a youthful prank. It is a destructive act that deserves criminal punishment.

The Legislature should revisit juvenile laws.

Teenagers who break the law should be identified publicly so they can be held accountable both criminally and in the court of public opinion.

OVER the weekend, vandals had attacked J.E. Robins Elementary School on the West Side. They splashed paint and glitter on walls, floors and electronic equipment, defacing a school that a number of employees had spent all summer sprucing up.

It was a senseless act that required 10 custodians to respond. They worked from 7 a.m. Sunday until 1:30 a.m. Monday - and then came back on Monday - to try to undo the damage in time for the start of the new school year next week.

Police have a number of suspects at this point, but because juveniles are involved, there is little likelihood the general public will learn who did this to the staff and students at J.E. Robins.

So much for holding anyone accountable. And so much for being deterring crime.

Woodrow Wilson High School in Raleigh County was damaged in May by vandals who spray-painted racial slurs and profanities.

Also in May, four Hedgesville High School students vandalized 85 buses and shut down the Berkeley County school system for a day. Three of the accused were not identified because they were not yet 18.

Greenbrier County schools suffered repeated vandalism in 2006.

The public has had enough of this. Juveniles feel free to indulge in crimes against society because society no longer holds them accountable for their acts.

Anyone old enough to damage public property and shut down a school system for a day is old enough to face the music - publicly.

Vandalizing public schools is not a youthful prank. It is a destructive act that deserves criminal punishment.

The Legislature should revisit juvenile laws.

Teenagers who break the law should be identified publicly so they can be held accountable both criminally and in the court of public opinion.