Winter break is approaching, which means there will be an increase of bored kids with free time, not  within their usual, daily classroom setting.  Bored, free time, could mean kids looking for mischief. Predictably, these kids usually roam about the commonplace stomping grounds of their school campus. And a vacant school gives impetuous children the opportune moment to commit graffiti and vandalism.  Unfortunately, during winter break school districts tend to see an influx in school-ground graffiti, as experienced last January in 2017.

Graffiti at schools yields budget problems for the school district.  Immanently, the school must first pay for the cleanup quickly. For failure to execute a complete removal of the markings leads to the risk of more painted writings, and more vandalism means heavier cleanups and higher school spending.  In addition, markings on the school campus are an eyesore and bring down the value of the school, as these signals are associated with gang activity.  Sadly, this problem can beget a diminishing attendance and less funding for the school.

When schools become deficient in funding, it becomes an entirely new, inexorable concern.  The students are the backbone of society, and when they aren’t provided an environment worth fighting for, society falls apart. Not to mention the snow-balling effect that evolves when graffiti and vandalism are strewn about a school’s grounds.

Students are influenced strongly by the peers within their environment, and when their environment spells trouble, kids absorb this behavior like a sponge.  Some children will respond with anger using rebound graffiti targeting the school.  Other children will respond with curiosity adventuring with their first markings on the unattended school. This environment influences the next generations in ways one cannot even imagine.

When it comes to school-ground vandalism, prevention is the number one penny saver.  There is too much at stake to risk all the consequences that follow a single act of graffiti.  In every instance, especially when it comes to deterring graffiti and vandalism, it is best to not make a mistake when you can avoid it.  This holiday break, measure twice and cut once.