Thieves have walked away with $5,000 worth of new iPads stored at Flint Hill Elementary School, a new campus opening in the fall in Newton County.
The thefts occurred last week at the school on Airport Road in Oxford, according to school district spokeswoman Sherri Davis-Viniard.
The popular Apple Inc. hand-held devices were being stored in a classroom, Davis-Viniard said.
“It’s a shame that a brand new school has to start the school year with someone stealing items meant for students,” the spokeswoman said.
The iPads, which start at around $500, were to have been used by students as part of Newton County School District’s effort to use more mobile technology in classrooms.
In addition to iPads, the school will have interactive boards, netbooks, iPods, laptops and student computers, in addition to computer labs, Principal Lori Thomas recently told The Newton Citizen.
IPads also have become the target of thieves elsewhere. Earlier this month, surveillance cameras captured two men using a crowbar to pry open the front door of a Target in Buckhead to steal 18 iPads. Some users also have had them snatched from their hands while using them.
The iPads, however, can be tracked when turned on, authorities said.
Davis-Viniard urged anyone with information on the Flint Hill Elementary thefts to contact the Newton County Sheriff’s Department at 678-625-1400.
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