Parents in this Clovis Unified elementary school are ‘on high alert’ over safety. Here’s why
Parents and educators at Clovis Unified’s Pinedale Elementary School say they’ve seen a troubling rise in drug use, loitering and antisocial behavior near the campus and want a greater police presence in the north Fresno neighborhood.
Debra Bolls, principal of Pinedale Elementary, said the school and neighborhood west of the busy Blackstone Avenue corridor have always grappled with homelessness in the 14 years she’s worked at the campus.
But several observations this school year have left Bolls alarmed and concerned.
The principal says she often sees people sitting at the school’s ramp on weekday evenings using drugs. Staff spotted a needle on a grass patch outside the campus where children walk by each school day. On a recent morning sweep, Pinedale Elementary staff found a utility knife underneath the kindergarten playground, Bolls said.
Bolls told dozens of concerned parents at a recent meeting at Pinedale Elementary that staff have seen people “out during daylight using drugs” and are “trying to prevent our students from becoming desensitized.”
It is not uncommon to see people wandering near the campus, Bolls said. For years, school administrators have gotten familiar with the faces of the homeless people who wander in the neighborhood with few incidents.
That changed this year, Bolles said. Pinedale Elementary educators have seen an influx of homelessness and they’ve witnessed people smoking drugs, urinating and defecating outside the school, spending the night on campus and leaving potentially hazardous materials at or near the school.
“We used to know who our unhoused people were,” Bolls said. “Our current reality is not only do we not know the people or why they’re coming through here, but they’re doing drugs around our school site.”
Located near the busy intersection of Blackstone Avenue and Herndon Avenue, Pinedale Elementary sits across the street from a commercial block home to a motel, liquor store and a smoke shop that opened last year.
Parents and community members who attended a meeting at the school earlier this month told The Bee the situation has worsened since the smoke shop opened.
“They are finding drugs. Having to tell your child not to pick anything up, not to touch anything, to tell an adult when people come into school, you shouldn’t have to do that,” said Alejandra Chavez, a Pinedale Elementary parent. “Unfortunately it has not become a safe zone for anybody. All parents are on high alert.”
Bolls tried to reassure a group of 50 or so anxious parents and community members that the school is trying to bolster safety at the school.
Staff sweep the campus early in the morning, the principal said. Bushes outside the school grounds were cleared so loiterers can’t hide and defecate, Bolles added. The school plans to install fencing and lighting around the campus, as well as cut off power from outdoor electrical outlets after school hours.
Clovis Unified has an “open campus” policy, meaning the district considers its school sites as amenities to their communities, and kids can play at school grounds on the weekend. Clovis Unified Trustee Clinton Olivier, whose area of representation includes Pinedale Elementary, said the school district doesn’t want Pinedale Elementary to become the first school in the district to rescind its open campus policy because of homelessness.
Olivier said he is working with Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi and Fresno Police Department, and is lobbying for Pinedale Elementary to have its own on-site police officer.
Clovis Unified has its own police department with officers stationed at each secondary school site throughout the day. Bolls said if she calls for help during the school day, the nearby Clovis West High School or one of the intermediate schools can dispatch an officer to Pinedale. Officers also patrol Pinedale at night.
“We have support, but we still have ongoing issues,” said Bolls.
Fresno’s new anti-camping ordinance gives police the authority to arrest unhoused people camping in public places.
A Fresno Police Department representative told Pinedale parents that police are using the new ordinance to relocate homeless people from school zones, and encouraged parents to report disturbances.
Community members from the Pinedale neighborhood are also trying to help.
Linda Amparano, a Pinedale resident of 35 years, noticed the deteriorating situation before the school year started and called for volunteers on Facebook to stand guard near the campus an hour before school starts.
At least 10 volunteers show up daily, Amparano said. It’s proven effective at deterring loiterers, she said,
“If they’re going to choose this lifestyle, they need to do it somewhere else, not in front of the school, that’s not appropriate, I don’t want our kids to be desensitized to that,” Amparano said. “I don’t know any parent who would want that by their school.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
