Wright Middle School Plans Security Fence

Concerned for the safety of youngsters, officials with the Las Virgenes Unified School District say they plan to install a security fence around Arthur E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas.

The money will come from a $10,000 annual allotment set aside by the district for security measures for secondary schools, said Donald Zimring, assistant superintendent of business for the district.

Although the school has had no serious problems, Zimring said, officials believe that a fence would help school officials better monitor visitors to the campus. The fence will be designed, he said, to funnel visitors toward the administration building.

The fence will eventually encircle the 1,500-student school, which fronts busy Las Virgenes Road, he said.

Other secondary schools have used their allotments in various ways, officials said. Lindero Canyon Middle School in Agoura Hills one year bought an extra set of textbooks--one for the classroom, one for home--so students would not have to keep books in lockers, which officials said are sometimes the scene of fights. One year, Agoura High School used its money to hire extra security personnel to patrol school grounds.