FULLERTON : Trustees to Discuss School Protection

Protecting students and teachers during the day and school buildings at night will be discussed tonight by Fullerton School District trustees.

Vandalism and outsiders wandering onto school grounds during the day are two problems that have been getting worse for several years, Supt. Duncan Johnson said Monday.

“It’s a continuation of a disturbing trend we’ve had,” Johnson said.

People in search of restrooms, some of them homeless, at times come onto the school campuses from nearby parks, he added.

The trustees will discuss fencing of school walkways, hiring someone to live on campus in a mobile home, and installing additional alarms to discourage people from entering the school buildings, Johnson explained.

Three schools have been tentatively selected to test the new security measures: Valencia Park Elementary, Raymond Elementary and Nicolas Junior High, which has sports fields used extensively by community groups after school.

The three schools and the possible security measures were chosen by school and city officials. If the board adopts a security plan, it will be presented to the city Community Services Commission and City Council for their approval and joint funding, Community Services Director Ron Hagan said.

Whatever solutions are reached, they won’t be simple, Hagan and Johnson agreed.

“It’s a tough situation because you want easy access to school facilities and park facilities for legitimate users,” Hagan said. “The one thing we are committed to is a joint sharing of resources.”