Campus security on agenda for Newhall meeting

Governing board official says project is part of a comprehensive security plan for all Newhall district schools

After nearly eight months of discussions, Valencia Valley Elementary School may soon have a new fence surrounding the perimeter of its school campus.

The Newhall School District Governing Board is expected to approve of the new fencing around the elementary school during its regular meeting Tuesday.

“We are planning to do a comprehensive security plan at all the schools so this is one of the last ones that needs fencing,” Governing Board President Philip Ellis said. “We want to make sure this one is done correctly.”

The fencing plan for Valencia Valley includes surrounding the school’s 1,200 linear feet of property with

8-foot-tall decorative iron fences. It also includes six pedestrian gates, one larger pedestrian gate at the HOA Park, one custombuilt drive gate for fire access and 1,188 linear feet of concrete mow curb.

The total estimated cost of the project is expected to be $206,316, according to the agenda item.

This project is expected to utilize district bids that were awarded to companies in October 2017 after the Governing Board approved fencing plans for Meadows, Newhall and Pico Canyon Elementary Schools.

The fencing plans for these schools, unanimously approved

at a Governing Board meeting June 6, 2017, included 8-foot tall and 6-foot tall decorative iron fencing at Newhall Elementary School and 6 foot tall decorative iron fencing at Meadows Elementary School and at Pico Canyon Elementary School.

During this June 6 meeting, the Governing Board decided to revisit fencing options for Valencia Valley Elementary School and sought input from community members and school staff about the fencing possibilities.

“We have reached out to the HOAs, parents and the school community and all the stakeholders we can think of,” Ellis said.

The fencing additions are part of an ongoing effort by the district to improve school site safety, according to Ellis.

“Security is an ongoing situation and why we’re looking into

things such as cameras and having additional people out on the playground,” Ellis said.

These “additional people on the playground,” or safety supervisors, are also expected to be a topic of conversation during the Newhall district’s Governing Board meeting Tuesday.

The Governing Board is considering keeping and adding safety supervisors at various school sites throughout the district.

“Each of our schools are different,” Ellis said. “They all have unique plans for each campus so we want to makes sure we do each one correctly.”

Adding the additional safety supervisors would double the cost of fullday coverage for each school site, according to the agenda item.

The additional safety supervisor is expected to cost a total of $10,803.44 for each school site each school year.