When the final bell rang last month signaling the start of summer vacation at Sacramento area schools, the sound also ushered in the least favorite time of year for school district police departments.

It's vandalism season, said Sgt. Vince Matranga of police services at the Sacramento City Unified School District.

"Summers are my toughest two months, because there are a lot of kids out there getting into mischief," Matranga said.

His fears were borne out over the weekend when someone threw fireworks through a window at John Bidwell Elementary School on 65th Avenue.

City firefighters reported finding the remnants of the fireworks Saturday in a kindergarten classroom. The fireworks had burned carpet and could have ignited nearby boxes of paper goods, the department said.

At the start of this year's summer vacation, Matranga said cuts to educational budgets have put pressure on district police to be especially vigilant this summer.

"I can't think of any other summer that it is more important to reduce the cost to the district when it comes to repairs for vandalism," said Matranga, who is in his 35th year with district police services. "We want our tax dollars to go into the classroom, not to repair vandalism. It's a critical summer."

Vandalism cost the district $127,867 between July 1, 2008, and June 4, 2009.

And that's why Sacramento City Unified and other districts are asking parents, students and neighbors of area campuses to help monitor schools during the summer to limit graffiti, burglaries, broken windows and other property damage.

In the most recent vandalism case at Bidwell Elementary, investigators would like information called in to their arson tip line, (916) 808-8732.

William Cho, public information officer for the Twin Rivers Unified School District police department, said watchful neighbors and security cameras have been instrumental in reducing the number of incidents on their campuses.

Those two resources also played a vital role in catching three juveniles who broke 46 windows last week at Frontier Elementary School in Rio Linda, causing $10,000 in damage.

Cho said the juveniles were caught because a neighbor called the police, and his department was able to use surveillance cameras to identify the youths, who he said were 15 years old.

Cho said Frontier Elementary is often targeted because it's secluded and in a residential area. The area is patrolled daily by Twin Rivers officers.

Gang-related graffiti is the most common type of vandalism district police respond to at their campuses, Cho said.

"When the weather gets warmer, we notice an increase in activity like this," Cho said. "Typically (suspects) don't have a good explanation. We ask them why they did it, and they say they don't know."

Cho said that besides the costs for vandalism repairs, the incidents also take away from district officers' time for more positive activities.

"Like interacting with staff and students in a more positive way," Cho said. "We do a lot of prevention and diversion programs. We try to let them know you don't have to interact in a negative way with police. We are your friends."

Twin Rivers has hundreds of surveillance cameras with dispatchers monitoring footage 24 hours a day, Cho said.

At Sacramento City Unified, Matranga said he often finds himself taking a laptop home to monitor activity from the more than 700 cameras at district schools.

Technology and neighborhood assistance have helped the district curb what was once a costly problem.

Sacramento City Unified saw a rash of vandalism in the early 1990s, with a spike during the 1991-92 school year totaling $643,799, according to Bee archives. That was an increase from $285,000 the previous school year.

Matranga said increased vandalism during the 1990s prompted him to go door-to-door in neighborhoods near schools, passing out 5-by-7 index cards with numbers of whom to call to report suspicious behavior.

"I wore out a pair of shoes that summer," he recalled.

The addition of cameras 10 years ago also has helped Matranga and his staff.

"We've seen a reduction in graffiti in the last year," Matranga said. "I hope it's because of all the vandalism programs we have in place now."

Vandalism costs were reduced by $26,687 in 2008-09 from the $154,554 the district spent in 2007-08.

"I don't know where I'd be without those cameras," Matranga said. "It's not uncommon for me to sit in a chair at home at night and review the sites. A lot of people think no one is monitoring. It's me. I'll be watching."

Call The Bee's Melody Gutierrez, (916) 326-5521.