Pali High Board of Trustees Discusses Campus Fencing at Last Meeting of Academic Year

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

The Palisades Charter High School Board of Trustees met virtually on Tuesday, June 21, for the final meeting of the 2021-22 academic year, where faculty and students asked for updates regarding a perimeter fencing and the school’s protocol in the case of an emergency.

“The push gates need to remain open at all times,” members of the faculty wrote in a report. “The chains impede evacuations … Having a security guard go around and open the gates is not realistic in the case of an active shooter.”

Board members and students also said the fencing makes the school “look like a jail.”

As part of the administration’s Safety and Security Team, Board Member Brooke King said the committee was charged with investigating the fencing, the safety of the fencing and why it is there.

“The fencing is there for security and for safety,” King said, “and we would like to recommend that the school and that the board revisit the way that we’ve approached it as it stands.”

In regard to the fencing being a fire hazard, King said that was one of the first concerns the team assessed, adding that individuals on campus should be informed about the ways to safely leave the campus through its exit points.

“These are emergency push-bar gates and you can get out of the school this way, it’s not going to trap people in there,” she explained. “We have those push-bar gates all over campus and … people can get out, and they do, on a daily basis.”

The committee recommended a front perimeter plan—while maintaining the current and temporary fencing—to ultimately meet the goals of protection and resilient infrastructure.

Polarizing views delayed the presented plan, and the team was tasked with finding a solution the board generally agrees with.

A motion was amended to approve the removal of the fencing that was installed during the COVID-19 pandemic by November 1 and task the Safety and Security Team to continue to explore replacement safety measures, including exploring alternative physical barriers that promote safety, while maintaining consistency with the design of Pali High.

The motion was moved.

“I don’t think anybody disagrees with the facts, it then comes down to what is more important: it not feeling like a jail or putting up something for a potential threat,” Board Chair Dara Williams said. “We have to respect whichever way [this] goes.”

A number of board members also said their goodbyes during the June 21 meeting, including Brenda Clarke and Jewlz Fahn.

“I just want to say thank you to this board and to those who … are departing at this point,” Principal Dr. Pamela Magee said during the meeting. “It has been a really challenging period of time … You’re here because you care about kids and you care about Pali … and I have deep, deep respect for that and appreciate all that you’ve committed to Pali.”

Joining the board in the 2022-23 academic school year are Amir Ebtehadj, Karen Ellis, Maggie Nance, David Pickard, Melissa Schilling and Saken Sherkhanov.

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for August 23.

“After coming back on campus, we’re really feeling like we needed to have policies in place,” Magee said. “We’ve gotten used to the in-person part of things, now we need protocols in place that support our students in a variety of ways. We’re going to be bringing policies on a regular basis to the board, either policies that already exist that we’re reviewing … and new policies that we’ve identified that we need. It’s a new process, and something we want people to know about and look forward to.”