Is It Possible to Enforce a Closed Campus at Berkeley High?

The possibility of enforcing and extending Berkeley High School's "closed campus" policy was a contentious issue at . See the video (right) for public comments about the proposed safety recommendations.

Board members disagreed over whether increasing perimeter security and closing Berkeley High's campus at lunchtime would address the issue of preventing guns from entering the campus. 

"It's not possible for us to close our campus," said Superintendent Bill Huyett. "We have a population of 3,000 students."

Berkeley High School is already considered a "closed campus," with students expected not to leave or enter school grounds between classes. But the regulation is not enforced, according to the Ad Hoc Safety Committee.

"The current policy is not monitored adequately and must be strictly and consistently enforced," the committee recommended to the school board.

The school, however, is open at lunchtime — a policy that cannot plausibly change under current conditions, according to the committee. 

"BHS has a student population of over 3,000 students and has the capacity to feed 500 students during the lunch period," the safety committee's report stated. "Presently, due to limited available facilities for feeding students on campus, it is not feasible to close the campus at lunch time."

However, the committee recommended that the district explore the costs of facilities, personnel and other resources for closing the campus during lunchtime in the future.

Some board members, however, disagreed with the idea that enforcing a closed campus would effectively deter weapons on campus.

"I don't see this as being related to reducing guns," said Board Member Leah Wilson regarding enforcing the closed campus policy. "It's going to take a lot of time to implement, administrative time that I believe should be focused on instruction in the classroom."

Board Member John T. Selawsky, on the other hand, said that enforcing a closed campus would change the attitudes that perpetuate violent behavior. "If we need to change the culture at Berkeley High, we need to change the culture at Berkeley High," he said, stating that allowing students to freely enter and exit the campus sends them the wrong message.