SAN DIEGO — At Harborside Elementary School, parents, the mayor, Chula Vista police and the Superintendent of Chula Vista Elementary School district all came out to talk about safety in schools Wednesday night.
Jennifer Crosthwaite is a parent of a 10-year-old who attends Harborside Elementary School. She says she’s constantly nervous of the safety of her child.
"We have gotten text messages before of lockdowns whether it be a person with a knife or someone too close to the school, luckily police come right away," said Crosthwaite.
Parents say there’s a park right by the school that has a large number of homeless people.
During the forum parents said their kids are scared to walk to school because the encounters with the homeless. Along with seeing drug paraphernalia on the ground.
Interim principal Michael Perez says something needs to be done.
"It’s the issues not just here but in Texas and the safety concerns parents have when their children are coming to school, this morning somebody was being arrested I had to call the kids out on the field we didn’t know if the gentleman was going to jump the fence and get onto property," said Perez.
Parents say the fencing that separates the school from the park needs to be higher.
Superintendent Dr. Eduardo Reyes says along with the fence, many things have been or will be updated. He also says the district participates in active shooter drills.
"There’s absolutely a plan in place we don’t discuss the plan with the public for safety reasons, there’s a plan for every school there’s active drills happening on a continuous basis throughout the year and our staff know what to do not just in a shooter but different events," said Reyes.
Reyes who put the event together, says he wanted to hear from the community and reassure parents that their kids are in good hands.
"Our number one priority is the safety of students staff and parents and when we say safety, we mean physical and emotional safety,” said Reyes.
Students can report incidents anonymously on studentsspeakingout.org.
You can also use an app called P3 Tips
If you see anything suspicious, you’re urged to go on that app or call 911.
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