A 13-year-old boy was tonight charged with an arson attack on a Catholic primary school in Ballymena as police prepared to draft extra officers into the area to prevent further trouble.
A 15-year-old boy was still being questioned in connection with the fire at St Louis Primary School in the Co Antrim town.
Earlier Superintendent Terry Shevlin, the District Commander, said more officers were needed to combat sectarian attacks on Catholic property. The announcement came as the Northern Ireland Office claimed crime levels had fallen to their lowest in recent years.
The number of offences recorded by police between 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 dropped by 8 per cent from 127,953 to 118,124 - the lowest recorded in Northern Ireland since 1998/1999.
A classroom window at St Louis' Primary School on the Cullybackey Road was forced open last night and an accelerant poured in and set on fire. The blaze damaged the floor and blackened the room and surrounding area.
A PSNI spokesman tonight confirmed a 13-year-old has been charged with arson and will appear before Ballymena Magistrates Court tomorrow.
The latest attack happened a day after five petrol bombs were thrown into the canteen and library of St Mary's Primary School in the Harryville area of the town. A Catholic church in Harryville was targeted in recent weeks in paint bomb attacks.
Catholic homes and property have also been targeted in the village of Ahoghill, where police issued families with fire blankets, and in Rasharkin.
Mr Shevlin said the new resources would enable him to mount static police operations at vulnerable targets, such as Catholic schools.
"This is in addition to patrols in places like Dunclug, Ahoghill and Harryville, where there have been recent disturbances, and patrols aimed at disrupting the activities of those involved in the loyalist feud," he said. "These are all operations that will be obvious for all to see, but I am also deploying resources for covert patrolling.
"This is an immediate response, but it is not one that we can sustain over a long period."
Following criticism from nationalists, Democratic Unionist leader Ian Paisley again condemned the attacks in his North Antrim constituency last night and dismissed criticism that his party had not done enough in the face of the violence.
In a separate sectarian attack, three paint bombs were launched at a house in Bleach Green Avenue, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim. Brickwork and windows were damaged, but police said no windows were smashed in the incident at about 11.25pm on Tuesday.