CONCORD, N.C. — After multiple random acts of vandalism at Barber-Scotia College, President Chris Rey is redirecting dollars.
"It’s creating a real headache for us and it's coming out of nowhere," Rey said.
"I don’t understand why they want to come in and break out windows and windowpanes," Barber-Scotia volunteer Curtis Newsome said.
Rey said they're not sure why the string of vandalism is happening or who's responsible for it. The damage to the student union totals up to more than $30,000 in repairs, another bill causing him to move resources.
"Gym windows and the dorm windows repairs cost upward of $7,000," Rey said. "We are going to need every dollar coming in."
He said the unnecessary repairs not only require thousands of unnecessary dollars to be spent, but it also delays other important capital investments like getting new roofs for some buildings.
"Every dollar that we are bringing in counts to pay off the debt or capital investment projects," Rey said.
Right now school officials are digging even deeper in their pockets to enhance security, like signing a trespass agreement with the Concord Police Department, investing in cameras, and looking at ways to gate the entire campus.
"To gate the campus it will cost well over $100,000, but that’s where we are now," Rey said.
Barber-Scotia currently operates entirely online. The goal was to allow hybrid schedules and partially open the campus up this fall.
Rey said those plans are now delayed as they continue unnecessary spending. But he’s optimistic things will come together and looks forward to breathing new life on the campus.
"We are working so hard, the president is doing all he can to bring this school back alive again," Newsome said.
Concord police said they’ve made three separate arrests for trespassing within the past two weeks. They said the individuals arrested for trespassing are not believed to be connected to the earlier property damage.
"This is a reminder that there are bumps in the road and I have to be able to navigate around those bumps," Rey said.
Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.