It is doubtful the vandals responsible for tagging more than 50 spots around campus with graffiti last month will be caught because the school security cameras proved to be useless after dark.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see the individuals on the camera,” said Principal Mark Corti.

Because the school was not lit the night of Jan. 13, when vandals caused at least $3,000 worth of damage, the video surveillance system did not pick up any images that would identify the vandals, said assistant principal Joy Brahmst.

When students arrived at campus on Jan. 14 many were greeted with spray painted phrases such as “F*** Cal” and “Cal Sucks” on building walls and the quad.

“We are going to start lighting the quad,” said Brahmst, after acknowledging the school’s inefficient use of the video system.

Although there are no visuals of the vandals, the administration believes they were on campus between 1 p.m. of Jan. 13 and 6 a.m. on Jan. 14.

A member of the custodial staff was on campus until 1 p.m. on Jan. 13 and there was no visible graffiti at that time.

But it seems most likely the taggers hit campus that night or early the next morning since their images were not caught on video.

There have been several incidents of vandalism on campus since the Jan. 13 attack, but no vandals have been caught despite the changes made to the school surveillance system.

“We’re not seeing a relationship to the previous vandalism,” said Brahmst.

There is no video footage of anyone spray painting more recent graffiti on the gym on Jan. 23, said assistant principal Janet Terranova, noting that there are no cameras that capture the back wall of the gym.

The administration has no leads or suspects at this time.

“We get leads and we follow them, but they take us to dead-ends,” said Terranova.

Administrators also said the police have no suspects.

If caught, the suspects could also be arrested on felony vandalism charges.

“If the dollar amount for the damages is above $400, it’s a felony and they will go to court,” said School Resource Officer Rob Ransom. “The suspects will also be forced to pay back the damages. The judge will decide any further disciplinary action.”

The school punishment for Cal High students who cause or attempt to cause damage to school property is a one to five day suspension.

They will also be held financially responsible for the damages, according to Ed Code 48900 in the student handbook.

“I think the people responsible should have to pay a fine for the damages,” said junior Devin Geroso.

If the perpetrators are students from another school, the punishment will be left to that school’s administration, according to Terranova.

Although the authorities do not have suspects, students have speculated about the guilty party.

“I thought it was probably someone from San Ramon (Valley High School) because it was the weekend of the game and some of the graffiti was green,” said freshman Kyle Norris.

The men’s basketball team beat the rival Wolves, 72-70, on Jan. 11 at Cal High.

Many students agree that the vandals are students from another school.

“I personally thought it was students from San Ramon (Valley High School),” said freshman Lenny Nieto, “because it was after the game where varsity basketball beat them and the graffiti was in Cal colors.”

Two days after the Jan. 13 incident, some graffiti still remained visible across campus, including ones with profane wording.

The process for removing graffiti on any school in the San Ramon Unified School District is under the control of the district office. The district office will send painters to remove the graffiti. It is the district’s responsibility to determine whether to power-wash the graffiti or cover it with paint.

But it is evident from looking at the main building that the paint chosen does not match the exterior of the building.

“It’s not their job to make it aesthetically pleasing,” said Brahmst.

The district has not commented on the removal of the graffiti.

This has been a bad year for graffiti, Brahmst said. The apparel sheds near the football field were tagged before winter break. The damage from that was estimated to be $1,000, and the vandals were never identified.

There also seems to be fresh graffiti each week on the walls and mirrors in the bathrooms.

The school is offering a $200 reward for the identification of the vandals.