San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
RAMONA UNIFIED MOVING AHEAD WITH SECURITY FENCE UPGRADES
District has set aside $500,000 from block grant
Heidi Santos worries about how about how accessible the Barnett Elementary School campus is when she drops off her son for transitional kindergarten.
The school lacks fencing by the parking lot and although there is a gate at the rear of the school it is usually not locked, said Santos, who has worked as a 911 operator.
“I think it is odd that I’ve been able to walk on campus and I’ve never been approached by a security person,” she said. “I’m hoping if there’s any way to make things better, they would do it as far as safety. If there is money, that would be somewhere to put it — more security people and adding fences.”
Ramona Unified School District officials say they are working to boost security at schools with $500,000 set aside from an Arts, Music and Instructional Materials Block Grant.
The money will be used to add or raise fences at select campuses in the district, said Rena Seifts, the district’s assistant superintendent of administrative services.
Over the last few years, fencing has been added to Ramona High School, Olive Peirce Middle School and Mt. Woodson Elementary School, Seifts said. Contractor bids are currently under way to raise the fence at Ramona Elementary School from 4 feet to 8 feet and to upgrade fencing at Montecito High School, she said. Fencing is also planned to be added to the back of Ramona High and security fencing is planned at Barnett Elementary and Ramona Community Campus, she said.
The decorative wrought iron fence project scheduled for Barnett, Ramona Community Campus and Montecito is awaiting approval from the Division of the State Architect, Seifts said. These campuses are fairly open now but that will be corrected this school year, she said.
“It prevents intruders from entering the campus,” Seifts said of the fencing projects. “Schools will have one point of entry. It helps you secure the campus. We’re trying to make it so people entering the campus have to go through the office.”
School security is a concern nationwide. Three of the deadliest school shootings have happened in the past five years.
In 2019, Ramona Unified officials walked school campuses with a San Diego County Sheriff’s Department crime prevention officer to determine where security fencing needed to be added or repaired.
Trustees approved the spending plan in September, Seifts said. A share of the total almost $3.1 million grant can be used for operational expenses such as fences this school year, she added. The remainder of the funds will go toward music, art and physical education teacher salaries, increased hours for campus safety officers, staff development, supplies, secondary music equipment and extracurricular activities, she said.
Candice Reed, the grandparent of a Barnett Elementary
kindergartner, said she was surprised there are no locked gates or fences on her daily trips to the school to pick up her granddaughter.
Anybody can just walk on the campus, she said.
“I noticed other elementary schools in Ramona had the same issue, lack of security,” Reed said. “I’m very relieved to hear that there is money from a grant that will provide fencing and security at the schools so that our children are less vulnerable to violence.”
Dropping off children at school and entrusting them to the care of other adults is an important consideration, Santos said.
“It’s a peace of mind thing knowing that everything is being done to keep a child safe, so you’re not stressed out when they’re not with you,” she said. “Overall, I think fencing would be a good thing. I don’t see it as a negative in any way.”
Ramona Elementary School Principal Pixie Sulser said having a higher fence will help create a safer environment for students and keep the campus safer during holidays and over the weekends.
“We are fortunate and have not had issues during the school day, but we are in the middle of town so things can happen,” Sulser said in an email.
Ramona Elementary has a safety plan that is reviewed yearly, and the students and staff regularly participate in emergency drills for earthquakes, lockdowns and fires, she added. Additionally, Ramona Elementary uses the school district’s Raptor check-in system. The Raptor system checks visitors for any felonies and provides the school with a list of who is on campus and where they are if there is a situation, she said.
“There is always a concern about safety in terms of our responsibilities to our students and staff,” Sulser said. “We would never want anything to happen to anyone. Whenever there is a tragedy in the news, it raises concerns. We do have cameras in several spots on campus so that is a help.”
Friends of Ramona Unified Schools (FORUS) has also chipped in for fencing at Ramona schools, with a $5,000 donation for fences in May 2018, said FORUS Treasurer Carmen Bedia. Back then, a fence was installed at Olive Peirce Middle School to prevent the students from going off campus during lunchtime, she said.
Then in October 2022, FORUS donated $19,122 for a combination of safety trauma kits and fencing installation, Bedia said.
The nonprofit regularly raises money toward health and safety projects at Ramona schools, said FORUS Board President Andrea Wagner. Some of its other safety-oriented donations have been for intercoms, walkie-talkies and emergency preparedness kits for classrooms.
“FORUS contributes to health and safety projects as schools have the need,” Wagner said. “Gates and fencing are part of securing our school campuses for safety. We are a group made up of caring citizens, parents and community members who want to ensure students and staff within our district are supported with health and safety needs.”