Administration re-examines Safety Plan after trespassers enter campus

Photo by Lynn Dai

Campus supervisor Allan Mcgurk was strolling through campus on the morning of Nov. 22 when he saw an unknown person wandering around the school and popping their head into various classrooms. 

The same morning, principal Greg Louie sent an email informing the school that an individual had trespassed onto campus at around 8:50 a.m. He followed up later that day with an email stating that a second individual had come onto campus that same day without permission during third period at around 10:25 a.m. 

Since then, administrators have been discussing further actions to ensure visitor policies are reinforced in order to keep the campus safe.

The first trespasser was a Class of 2012 alumna who was asked by the supervisor to leave the campus, as she had failed to check in as a visitor at the main office. The individual ignored the  request and re-entered campus. She was seen walking in and out of classrooms by multiple teachers, dropping off items including an “inappropriate book” in social studies teacher Todd Dwyer’s room, according to Dwyer, and an “exacto knife,” according to Louie.

Because the individual failed to leave, administrators were alerted immediately and confronted the alumna, who attempted to run away. The sheriffs were called and detained the individual, who then cooperated and was cited for trespassing, Louie wrote. 

The second trespasser was a Class of 2020 Redwood Middle School alumnus who doesn’t attend the school. He arrived on campus when the first passing began, tagging along to his friend’s third-period class in media arts and photography teacher Alex Hemmerich’s room. 

The student told The Falcon in an interview that he knew visitor sign-ins were required, but he just wanted to see his friends on campus.

Because he is still a minor, the administration had a discussion with his parents, who all agreed that he had created a suspicious circumstance.  

After the incidents, the administration and the board discussed the possibility of putting up fencing around campus to prevent situations like these from occurring again, assistant principal Matt Torrens said. Most schools in the area have fencing, but no action has been taken to change SHS’s open campus. The cost of adding fencing would be high, Torrens said.

Fencing might also create other problems. Last year, for instance, a garbage truck caught on fire and dumped its burning contents onto the school’s back parking lot because the driver could not exit from a locked gate. After the fire, Louie said the gates should always be left open during school hours.  

Assistant principal Brian Thompson has taken these concerns into consideration and is working on the school’s Safety Plan, which he will soon present to the School Site Council. 

For the Nov. 22 incidents, both trespassers were cited from the sheriff’s office and suspended from entering campus for the next 12 months — including after-school hours. 

“To prevent this in the future, we have to get the word out to alumni that when they come back at Thanksgiving break to say hi to their teachers, they have to check in at the office,” Torrens said. “At the office, we will either tell them they either can or cannot come on campus.”

After these incidents, all custodians and maintenance crews are now helping to monitor the campus, reporting back to the office if anything suspicious occurs. 

“Just today, I received and responded to two calls from custodians who noticed two people they could not identify,” said Torrens.

In most instances, trespassers were asked to either go check in at the office or to leave campus for COVID-19 precautions.  

“Rules are stricter now more than ever,” Torrens said. “We have ensured that this incident will be talked about at faculty meetings in the future.”