Schools
Port Jefferson Board Votes to Close High School Campus
Seniors will no longer be able to leave school for lunch as of next school year.
In the name of safety for its students, Port Jefferson School District has ended what has been a long-standing tradition in its high school: the open campus.
“Campus is closed effective July 1 to all students,” confirmed Superintendent Kenneth Bossert in an email to Patch.
After a second reading of the policy on Tuesday night the school board voted six to one in support of closing the campus, according to a story in the Port Times Record.
Find out what's happening in Port Jeffersonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Following the tragedy in Newtown, the school district took a hard look at all of its security policies and decided that one of the priorities was to limit access into and out of the school building. This meant essentially closing the campus so senior students could not leave the grounds during their lunch period. In the past, seniors could leave campus for lunch if they had their parent’s consent.
“That will no longer be the case come September,” said Bossert.
Find out what's happening in Port Jeffersonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Click here to read our initial story about the proposal to close the campus and school board member opinions on the subject.
In January Superintendent Bossert was directed by the board to draft a policy for regarding having the campus closed. A public hearing was held on Jan. 31 about the potential change, bringing out both students and parents to debate the new policy and talk about school safety measures in general.
“Sandy Hook is the 9/11 for schools,” Bossert told the crowd during the public meeting on school safety. “It changed everything.”
While students articulated their reasons why the campus should stay open parents were split on the issue.
Former Board of Education member Lauren Hubbard said she supported the open campus. Arnold Lustig – who told audience members that his daughter was killed in a driving accident 25 years ago – said he very strongly about closing the school grounds “in the interest of saving lives and security.”
Click here to read more about the public meeting.
After the closed campus, Bossert said he’s eager to have more security measures enacted.
For a breakdown of the new security proposals click here.
“We are happy to see the other initiatives approved by the board (additional guards, buzzer doors, cameras, fencing) working effectively to maximize the safety of our students and staff,” Bossert said.
What do you think? Did the district make the right decision in closing the high school campus?
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