SBHS trustees approve fencing, lighting and cameras
By Richard James Lopez
Special to the Pinnacle
Students at San Benito High School will soon notice some changes
on campus. In an attempt to beef up security measures at the
school, the San Benito High School District Board of Trustees on
Jan. 14 approved a series of security upgrades that include the
installation of five additional security cameras, increased campus
fencing and enhanced campus lighting.
SBHS trustees approve fencing, lighting and cameras
By Richard James Lopez
Special to the Pinnacle
Students at San Benito High School will soon notice some changes on campus. In an attempt to beef up security measures at the school, the San Benito High School District Board of Trustees on Jan. 14 approved a series of security upgrades that include the installation of five additional security cameras, increased campus fencing and enhanced campus lighting.
The measures in the security package have been under consideration for a while, and the fact that similar security measures have been implemented successfully in other school districts around the country seems to have played a role in pushing the school administration to adopt the new changes.
“I’ve heard nothing but positive results from this [installing cameras, fencing, etc.],” said Debra Fisher, the director of finance at the school. “There’s been improved safety and improved security for the students” at schools where the measures have been approved, she said.
According to Don Chaney, San Benito High School’s chief of maintenance and operations, wrought-iron fencing will be added in Baler Alley on the north side of campus, and chain-link fencing will go up on the East campus south of Nash Road as well as by San Benito Street. Enhanced lighting will be installed to better illuminate the front of the Administration Building on Monterey Street, as well as pathways on the New Campus area, which lies on the south side of Nash Road and to the southwest of West Street. Five new security cameras will supplement the one existing camera that has been in operation since the Fall on the northeast corner of Mattson Gymnasium. The new cameras will be located on O’Donnell Gymnasium commonly referred to as “The Old Gym,” the library building, the cafeteria, the interior quadrangle on the main campus, and at the intersection of Nash Road and Monterey Street. Ultimately, these six cameras will form part of a 22-camera system.
According to Fisher, the cameras and fencing are currently on order, and Chaney is working with an electrician to implement some of the new lighting. Fisher said the improvements are “in the works now, and people should start seeing the changes fairly soon. I would say things are on order, and the correct people are being instructed to begin the work shortly.”
Conservatively, Chaney estimated that the new security upgrades will be in place and fully operational by the end of the school’s Spring break in mid-April.
The district officials have allotted $6,750 for the fencing, $12,000 for lighting, and $25,000 to install security cameras, Chaney said.
“Certain items can be funded through deferred maintenance. Others can be funded through the facilities funds,” Fisher said. “Facilities funds are supposed to go to keeping your facilities in good shape, so, for example, money dedicated to graffiti abatement can be used in this case since you’re preventing graffiti rather than cleaning up graffiti. You’re going to use that money anyway.”
There are also funds for school safety that can be tapped, according to Fisher.
“There are a variety of funds, within school funding, that target these areas. You use the right funds for the right cause,” she said.
“There has been a greater concern for safety at the school, especially with gang problems” over recent years, said Jeff Miller, Hollister’s police chief. He said people from outside the campus have created trouble on campus in the past, and he also mentioned problems with vandalism. However, Miller emphasized that the new security measures should not be viewed as a defense mechanism against gangs or any other specific group or activity, but rather as upgrades necessary to keep schoolchildren safe. Aside from gangs, the school should implement the new measures to protect students from theft, kidnapping, and even the possibility of a school shooting, Miller said.
“When you consider all of these things, when we’re looking at the technology available to us to protect the children, I think it’s important that we avail ourselves of that technology,” he said.
School administrators stress that the new upgrades are primarily preventative measures.
“The lights are a deterrent; fencing is a deterrent. Knowing that a camera is focused on a certain area can be a deterrent,” Fisher said. “What you want to do is prevent as much as you can.”
According to the minutes of the Jan. 14 school board meeting, the designated locations of the five new cameras are “known areas for student altercations, drug sales, gang activity, graffiti, vandalism, entry points for non-students during the school day, and traffic accidents.” Two sergeants from the Hollister Police Department, along with a school administrator, conducted a walk-through of the SBHS campus to determine the appropriate locations for the cameras, Miller said.
A primary reason that the security upgrades were approved seems to hinge on the success of the pilot camera that was put into operation during the fall semester.
“We’ve had graffiti in the past, where we have the current camera. I was, on a weekly basis, cleaning up graffiti [in the area],” Chaney said.
The school spent thousands of dollars on graffiti removal, with the location of the current pilot camera being in one of the hardest hit areas.
“Since the camera has been installed, I’ve had no graffiti [in the area],” Chaney said. “I’ve had no altercations amongst the kids [in the area], so the camera has really created a safe environment for the kids [in that area].”
According to the minutes of the Jan. 14 board meeting, however, some trustees expressed concerns regarding the proposed security upgrades. Trustee Evelyn Muro questioned the effectiveness of the cameras to deter crime, and trustee Ray Rodriguez expressed concern regarding some of the nearby residential housing that will come into the view of the cameras.
School administrators are aware of these concerns, and said they have taken measures to address them. Windows of houses that come into camera view will be pixelated, and will not be seen when reviewing camera footage. Also, Chaney, who is in charge of implementing the new security measures, has contacted the residents of the houses that will come into camera view, and those he has spoken to have been supportive of the new cameras.
“They applauded us for doing it,” Chaney said. “They recognize that the cameras will actually provide more security for them.”
For those residents with whom he has not been able to get in touch, Chaney has left his contact information.
School administrators stress that the new security measures are part of a general security plan that will be implemented in phases, and that the school officials are taking a measured approach to the issue of campus safety.
“We want to do this in increments, in phases, with the board’s approval, and make sure we’re spending our dollars wisely,” Chaney said.
Fisher stressed that adult supervision will remain the most important component of campus security, and that the new measures are meant to supplement, rather than replace, this human element of security.
“We’re taking a multi-pronged approach [to campus safety], because we know that not any one thing is the answer,” Fisher said. “We use people, first and foremost.”
Administrators say they have spoken with their own students and staff, as well as officials at other schools, and indicate that most of the feedback concerning the proposed changes has been positive. Bill Tiffany, president of the board of trustees, said that he has looked at surveys of students and teachers, and that the results show general support for the new upgrades.
“Providing a safe, orderly campus is a No.1 priority to the district,” San Benito High School Principal Krystal Lomanto wrote in an email. “I believe the board voting to upgrade our security measures is in support of that goal.”
