PHILADELPHIA – Police have arrested six children after they allegedly broke into a school slated to close in days.

The kids – ranging from 10- to 12-years-old – are not students at Philadelphia’s Walter D. Palmer Leadership & Learning Partners Charter School, which is closing Dec. 31 due to “financial difficulties.”

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The looting came two days after school officials announced the closure.

“The children stole markers and other small items, police said. They were arrested after police were alerted via a 911 call and will be charged with trespassing,” NBC 10 reports.

Police believe the kids may have heard about the school closing and “thought they could steal items as a result.”

The school is closing midway through the academic year.

That was news to the School District of Philadelphia.

“The Walter Palmer organization has not informed the School District,” district spokesman Fernando Gallard says in a statement.

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“We will be reaching out to the school administration to confirm its plans to close.”

Philly.com reports:

This month, teachers scheduled to be paid Dec. 5 received their checks three days late and were told the money would not be immediately available.

At the time, Walter D. Palmer, the school’s founder and board president, blamed the delay on a “timing issue.”

The school was also failing to pay into the state teachers’ pension system. It is also paying off a $1.5 million court judgment owed to the Philadelphia public school district for “collecting money for students it was not authorized to enroll.”

Earlier this year, the charter closed its high school amid concerns over academic performance and financial stability.