Fencing in Holmes and Denver schools concerns some neighbors

BY EILEEN BRADY
​THE NEWS JOURNAL OF WILMINGTON, OHIO

Some people — Robert Frost, in particular — say good fences make good neighbors. 
I say good people make good neighbors.

And so when we moved back to Wilmington, we chose to build a house in a new neighborhood that billed itself as a “planned community,” nestled between beautiful church grounds and an open elementary school. Where I live, there are walking paths, including one that goes to Holmes Elementary School and its playgrounds, track and baseball fields. I love my neighbors and I love my neighborhood.

But Holmes will soon have a 6-foot chain-link fence around it,

with a gate at the Timber Glen neighborhood access that will be locked while children are in school. Denver Place also will be getting a similar fence; East End is already sufficiently fenced.

It’s all in the name of protecting children. And so who could possibly be against that? 

Apparently, I am, because I don’t want the fence, which has an estimated price tag of $24,000. Denver’s fence will cost about $22,000. It’s not even the cost that bothers me; most of us would pay any amount of money to truly keep our kids safe.

I guess it’s because I’m not quite convinced a 6-foot fence is the magic bullet to protect our children. 

I’m interested in protecting children from a lot of things, including knee-jerk decisions that have lasting repercussions. From community schools that forget the “community” part. From eyesores that shut people out of public property.

A concerned citizen alerted all the Timber Glen residents with flyers about the proposed fence and invited us to a meeting Thursday night at Holmes School, where superintendent Phil Warner told us that “two to three months ago, the decision was made to fence in playgrounds at Denver Place and Holmes Elementary.” Curt Bone, director of business operations, also represented the school district, and Dave Camp represented the subdivision developer.

The meeting, it turns out, was not to discuss whether a fence would be put in, because that decision has been made — not up for debate. It was more about where gated access would be placed. At one point we were told they had not been considering gates at all; at another time, we were told there had already been plans for three gates, although many residents wanted an additional fourth gate behind the baseball fields. That baseball-field gate is apparently now being considered.

Most residents seemed to be able to accept the 6-foot, chain-link fence if there would be enough access. Aesthetics were another concern: a green-vinyl-covered chain link was requested, although its double price tag probably puts it out of contention; and Warner assured us it would be mowed and kept weed-free (with the help of chemicals sprayed around the playgrounds, but gosh, why would we want to protect our children from actual chemicals when there’s other perceived danger out there, lurking near the playground perimeter?). 

The Great Fence Installation has its roots in what has been called a “situation” at Denver Place. We weren’t told what happened at Denver, but I believe it sparked the hasty fence decision, a relatively quick way a school district can protect itself legally, by pointing to a tangible fence and saying, “But we did everything we could to prevent this …”

In the post-Columbine, post-9/11 world, I’ve seen Band-Aids applied to many such situations. I’m not convinced they stop the bleeding.

Warner, who also lives in Timber Glen, said he is not a fan of fences but feels they are a necessity. “I do not want to be an alarmist, but on the other hand, I think we need to take some steps to enhance the safety of the kids,” he told us at Thursday’s meeting. And he encouraged the community to keep using the playground, ball fields and walking track — albeit when the gates are unlocked, which will be in the mornings and after school. 

Just this week, I read about a middle school — the only unfenced school of 550 in the Los Angeles Unified campuses — that changed plans to fence its school. Students circulated petitions because they enjoyed their parklike setting. The neighbors already help to police the school and security cameras survey the campus, even beaming images to the assistant principal’s home. 

Teachers and parents in L.A. protested also the fence, and the school board backed down. One teacher said, “When you look at all the things this school needs — more computers, new PE equipment, a Weed Eater because there are so many cracks in the blacktop — a fence is not on anybody’s list.”

While many cities are implementing “new urbanism” in their communities — building homes, schools and services within walking distance of each other in order to create a more convenient, enjoyable place to live — we are building a wall around the school in the closest exercise in new urbanism that Wilmington has to offer.

The school board is supposed to advertise for bids for these fences Monday night, and Warner said his intent is to make a recommendation for a contract at the July board meeting. The fence should be in place by the new school year. 

​And then we should all feel safer.