LILBURN, Ga. — Business owners in Gwinnett County are begging Berkmar High School officials and police to help prevent students from playing hooky behind their buildings.
Owners report the teens are stealing and vandalizing their properties in Lilburn with graffiti and garbage.
On Tuesday, Joey Lasky, the owner of Mattress and More on Beaver Ruin Road, met with school administrators and police to discuss a problem he said has been going on for years and is costing them money. He gave up on trying to clean the trash up himself because it just comes back.
"Piles and piles of trash," Lasky said as he guided 11Alive down the trashy path behind his building.
There was spray paint, bottles, liquor, sleeping bags, cigarettes, lighters, couches, chairs, blankets, and more litter along the way. He said some students throw rocks at his building and have even set fires.
"That really never ends," Lasky said.
Lasky said it gets worse when school is back in session. He catches students drinking, smoking, and even fornicating. Lasky caught several students loitering during this interview.
He said the path leads straight to Berkmar High.
Principal Durrant Williams said multiple businesses have brought this to his attention. The school has only been in session for a few days.
"We're open an open, high school campus," Williams said. "The only thing deterring them--the perimeter of our campus is the chain link fence. And so, they cut through the fence. We repair the fence. They cut through the fence again."
Williams said that of his 3,000 students, two percent are culprits. That's about 90 students wandering off. He said students are not allowed to leave campus, but they figure it out anyway. And when they walk away, it gets tricky.
"We only have jurisdiction over students while they're on our campus," Williams said.
Lilburn Police have stepped in to assist. Lt. Richard White said they've been charging students with shoplifting for taking alcohol and cigarettes from a nearby store. A helicopter even helped them catch them toward the beginning of the school year. They then turn them over to the school resource officer.
"We're not going to stop patrolling the area," White said. "And we're going to continue to enforce what we need to enforce."
White said he's encouraging officers to patrol that area as much as they can. Their code enforcement division plans to either clear the area or use things to deter students, such as plants and more fences.
Lasky explained that he's gone to the police, but there's an issue of jurisdiction. So, often, he said, they pass the baton. A representative of Gwinnett Police said its officers are involved as well, as this is unincorporated in Gwinnett County.
Williams said they've also added more personnel to patrol the campus, including golf carts and adding cameras.
Students who are repeat offenders could be sent to alternative schools.
Lasky said he doesn't want to see students in trouble, just in class.
"We're not going to be bullied. We're not going to sit here and have this going on and let these kids take over and vandalize our property on the Gwinnett and Lilburn side and force us to just deal with it," Lasky said. "We're not going to take that."
White said officers will meet again with owners on Thursday to work toward a plan.