Burglars who broke into Lau­pa­hoe­hoe Community School during Hurricane Ana made off with master keys and cash, saddling the tiny school with a $10,000 bill to rekey the whole campus.

The public charter school, which has 250 students in preschool through 12th grade, is appealing to the community for help and support. The burglary took place during the weekend that Ana soaked and buffeted the islands, and was discovered early Sunday.

"We were trying to deal with our families, and the storm and floods," said Ala­paki Nahale-a, school director. "We rushed down to our school. It was pretty emotional. It was heartbreaking, really."

The intruders broke an exterior window and pried open the office door, then broke into an interior locked space and a locked safe, taking master keys as well as keys for the school’s tool and equipment lockers, he said. The thieves also scooped up petty cash, lunch money, school checkbooks and even the principal’s "bosses day" gift card.

"They were going for those types of liquid assets," Nahale-a said. "They didn’t get many valuables; they just caused a lot of expense for us."

He put the stolen items at less than $1,000 but the cost of recovery at much more. Along with the $10,000 cost to rekey the campus, the school is considering enhanced security measures that could cost almost as much. Paying for that would take away from funds that otherwise would go to education, he said.

"We’ve been working so hard to create a great school for our students and community," Nahale-a said. "To have someone do this, to vandalize this historic building and take from our children, is a blow to everything we’re fighting for."

The campus was also burglarized last year and lost all of its landscaping equipment, including weed-cutting equipment and a chain saw, he said. That loss was pegged at close to $5,000.

The school on the Hamakua Coast was relocated to a bluff above Lau­pa­hoe­hoe Point after the devastating 1946 tsunami and was designed by acclaimed architect Vladi­mir Ossipoff. It became a public charter school in July 2012.

On Monday teachers took the elementary school students, as previously planned, on a field trip to the Kohala Mountain Farm Pumpkin Patch. The secondary school was closed while staff took inventory, so the older students missed a second day of instruction, in addition to the day lost to the hurricane.

Students were trying to stay upbeat this week.

"At first we were pretty upset that someone would do this," said Jayln Mahoe-Subica, sophomore student leader, "but then we remembered that one of the four behaviors we’re focused on this year is resilience, that we keep striving no matter what."

Since the crime occurred during a state of emergency, more severe penalties may apply. The campus had prepared to open as an emergency shelter site but did not need to do so.

Along with the school, the vandals also broke into Lau­pa­hoe­hoe Public and School Library last weekend, but apparently nothing was taken. The front door may need to be replaced, and there was some damage to the drywall, said librarian Gabri­elle Casart.

"I think they were looking for quick money," Casart said. "I don’t think they realize that schools and libraries are poor."