The classrooms at Kingston elementary may be warmer than usual at this start of the school year because someone stole from them.

This past weekend, thieves damaged multiple HVAC units at both Kingston and R.B. Hudson Middle School.

The schools will still be able to open on schedule, but the damage to Kingston’s units prevent them from properly cooling the classrooms for the students.

Just because no one was hurt during this crime, doesn’t make it a victimless crime. I’m sure the faculty and staff at Kingston will still be able to keep their students on track, but this is an unnecessary obstacle for both the students and the teachers.

Stealing is fundamentally wrong, and stealing from kids is beyond apprehensible. Earlier this summer, the weight room at Southside High School was broken into and approximately $1,700 in weights were stolen.

These crimes are putting the kids at a disadvantage before the first school bell rings. It’s not fair to the teachers who have to deal with the potentially uncomfortable room temperatures. It’s not fair to the School System, which already has a laundry list of to-do items that needs its fiscal attention.

And it’s not fair to the community that is trying to patch up Selma’s scars and make the city a safer place.

I hope that the students and staff at Kingston and R.B. Hudson aren’t setback too far by this cowardly crime. I hope they can overcome the inconvenience and push onward to a great school year.

I hope the School System’s expenses to repair the damage doesn’t handicap them from providing another resource to the students.

The school year will continue as planned, but this was an unfortunate circumstance that the students shouldn’t have to deal with.

Thomas Scott is the sports reporter at The Selma Times-Journal. He can be reached at thomas.scott@selmatimesjournal.com.