In the wake of the tragic shooting in Uvalde, Texas, San Luis Coastal Unified School District officials say they were flooded with calls from concerned parents, each one wanting information as to how their child would be kept safe at school.
At Del Mar Elementary in Morro Bay, fencing around the property was always the plan but after the recent shooting in Texas, that plan was expedited. The chain link is just a placeholder for bigger plans. The school board put a measure on the ballot for November that would help increase funding for even more safety measures.
"A big part of that will be to add security fencing as well as other safety improvements to all of our district campuses including the middle schools," said Ryan Pinkerton, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services at San Luis Coastal Unified School District.
The chain link fence alone is around $200,000 and that is coming straight out of the school's allotted funding for the year. But that price tag means nothing when it comes to a parent's peace of mind.
"If you do come here, you are definitely contacted by a staff member pretty quickly. They’ve been running a pretty tight ship already but I’m sure this is gonna make it an extra layer of security, so I don’t have a problem with it. I think it's great," said parent Shawn Washburn.
"It definitely makes me feel like they’re safe at school and if there was anything that was gonna happen they’re protected on the grounds so that’s a good feeling," added parent Ebony Williams.
The chain link will eventually be replaced with a more updated look.
The four elementary schools in the San Luis Coastal Unified School District that do not have a gate around the premises are getting one within the next couple of months. Del Mar was the first but definitely not the last.
The Lucia Mar Unified School District is also working to put up fencing around its campuses that do not already have one. The district estimates costs for that project to be around $450,000.
