A Santa Rosa elementary school that has been shuttered because of district budget constraints was severely damaged by copper thieves and vandalism, authorities said.
The Santa Rosa Police Department said in a social media post that it received a report of a burglary on Wednesday morning at Steele Lane Elementary School. Staff members arrived at the campus just before 9 a.m. and encountered three people inside school grounds, police said.
They were directed to leave the campus and complied, and while staffers inspected the campus, they found extensive damage throughout consistent with copper wire theft, police said. The three suspects - two women, one on a bicycle, and a man in a wheelchair - were seen leaving the area with containers possibly holding the wire, police said.
Electrical systems were stripped of copper wiring from multiple panels, and about 5,000 feet of copper wire was believed to have been stolen from the campus. The thieves also damaged the main office building with copper wiring and components removed from rooftop systems and air conditioning units, police said.
There was also significant vandalism to the school's library, with books, furniture, and electronic equipment destroyed and a door forcibly opened. It was not determined whether the vandalism was related to the copper theft, police said.
The total damage to the campus was estimated at about $260,000.
There was no additional information about the suspects and police said detectives were working to obtain surveillance images. People living in the area of the campus were asked to review any home surveillance footage for any images that could help investigators.
A reward of $2,500 is being offered by the Business Alliance of Sonoma County Community Engagement and Safety Rewards Fund for information leading to the arrest of the suspects. Anyone with information about the incident was encourage to contact the Santa Rosa Police Department.
Steele Lane Elementary and Hilliard Comstock Middle School were permanently closed in June because of budget constraints and declining enrollment. Santa Rosa City Schools also closed four other schools the previous year as part of a district wide financial stabilization plan to close a multi-million-dollar budget gap.
It was the second instance of vandalism at a closed Santa Rosa School in a week. On Oct. 9, multiple teens broke into Brook Hill Elementary School, closed since 2025, and left extensive damage throughout the campus. The damage included shattered windows, damaged electronics, vandalized classrooms, damage to network infrastructure, and other costly property damage, police said.
At least six juveniles were arrested and a seventh was identified as a suspect. Damage was estimated to likely exceed $100,000. Police said it also appeared that the school has been vandalized prior to the incident that resulted in the arrests.
Similar thefts and vandalism have also happened recently at shuttered schools in San Jose.
