Newly inaugurated Assemblymember Curren Price (D-Inglewood) was shocked when he heard from a constituent that Orville Wright Middle School had been extensively vandalized by someone using a front-end loader tractor on December 9, 2006. Assemblymember Price immediately contacted the school, and on December 13 he toured the campus with school Principal Stephen Rochelle to examine the extent of the estimated $200,000 worth of damage, which included tearing up the sports field, bulldozing basketball hoops, handball courts, and baseball backstops.

Assemblymember Price then contacted Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell’s office to request assistance in securing emergency funds. If approved, these emergency funds will enable Orville Wright Middle School to help begin to repair the damage. As a former educator himself, Assemblymember Price insisted that the matter is urgent.

“It is a terrible shame that the true victims of this crime are the children, who are now deprived of some of the already limited educational resources in our community,” said Assemblymember Price. “I pledge to do everything I can to help restore this school as quickly as possible.”

Assemblymember Curren Price was inaugurated on December 4th and serves the 51th Assembly District, which includes Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, Playa Vista, Westchester, Lawndale, West Athens, Lennox, Alondra Park, West Compton, Del Aire, and Willowbrook, as well as portions of the unincorporated area of Ladera.

8th grade girl’s P.E. class observing their destroyed playground where previously had class.

Assemblymember Curren Price (right) surveying the vandalism damage with Orville Wright Middle School Principal Stephen Rochelle (left).