San Diego

San Diego city schools trustees voted 3 to 2 to accept the decision of a special committee of parents, students, teachers and residents at Patrick Henry High School to keep the campus open, meaning students will continue to have permission to leave campus during lunch.

The committee was the first established under a new Board of Education policy that allows the communities around the 16 high schools in the San Diego Unified School District to consider changing an open-campus policy. An earlier internal school committee at Patrick Henry had voted last year to keep the campus open, leading to protests from parents and residents that the panel was biased.

The school board, with Trustees Jim Roache and Shirley Weber opposed, accepted the latest report. Roache and Weber argued that the committee vote is inconsistent with informal surveys of parents, the community and school staff, which showed overwhelming support for a closed campus.

A committee at Serra High School in Tierrasanta is also considering a change in school policy. Many parents and residents believe a closed campus would cut down on lunchtime truancy and tardiness, drug and alcohol use, and traffic and litter in adjoining neighborhoods.