I know that arsons are all too common at city schools, but I was particularly saddened to hear about the one yesterday at Carver Vo-Tech.

Carver is in the midst of a $30 million renovation project. The city schools have a billion dollars' worth of renovation needs, only a tiny fraction of which are funded each year, so getting the money for a project like this is a huge deal and was years in the making.

Fortunately, the fire was not in the part of the building being renovated. It was set in a portable unit holding 10 classrooms and three offices until the renovation is complete. Still, officials now say it did a whopping $500,000 of damage (an earlier estimate was $60,000), destroying the portable and creating logistical challenges to house the portable's classes in the main building.

The school system isn't confirming, but well-placed sources tell me a Carver student was arrested today in connection with the incident.