UPDATE: Goddard School Forced to Close When A/C Units Stolen

UPDATE, 5:55 p.m. June 21: The Chews Landing Road Goddard School will re-open to children on Friday.

Temporary air-conditioning units for the facility have been installed, owner Kelly Vicario said, after Thursday morning's discovery that five commercial machines had been dismantled and parts stolen from them.

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SOUTHERN NJ -- A private Gloucester Township child-care facility was forced to send students home for at least one day after staff members discovered Thursday morning that its five commercial air-conditioning units had been dismantled overnight.

Two teachers at The Goddard School arrived to the early-childhood education and child-care center for its 7 a.m. opening, and noticed the air-conditioning did not seem to be running, owner Kelly Vicario said. They discovered the thefts at about 7:30 a.m.

"They kind of broke them apart and got pieces out of them," Vicario said.

Such thefts normally occur because the thieves are seeking scrap metal, especially copper. 

"That's a common crime all across the state," Gloucester Township Police Capt. Anthony Minosse said. "I can't say we've really had an uptick in them lately, though."

The air-conditioning thefts forced Goddard School, located on Chews Landing Road near the township's border with Lindenwold, to turn away roughly 90 kids Thursday—the hottest of the year, so far, with temperatures expected to top out near 100 degrees.

"We already had 20 kids here. We had to call the parents and have them come back," Vicario said. "Some were already in Philly. Some were on trains. It was an inconvenience for them."

At least one little boy was supposed to spend his first day at summer camp Thursday.

"It's a shame," she said.

Vicario is hopeful the school will re-open Friday through the use of temporary air-conditioning units.

It appears the thefts occurred between roughly 9 p.m. Wednesday, when a cleaning crew left for the night, and 7 a.m. Thursday, when the two teachers arrived to open the building.