Police are seeking information on a man who yelled at a female Auten Road Intermediate School student in a school bathroom.
By:Sally Goldenberg
Two recent incidents, one involving a strange man yelling in a school bathroom and the other the recovery of two missing first-graders, have elevated safety concerns at the Hillsborough School District.
While some say the episodes reflect inadequate school security, the superintendent said administrative audits indicate proper safety measures are already being taken.
The concerns arose after an Auten Road Intermediate School girl reported being yelled at by a man in the school bathroom on April 30. In addition, two 7-year-old students left Sunnymead School without permission, crossed Route 206 and walked to Commerce Bank before police found them over an hour later on April 25.
According to a report released by the Hillsborough Police Department on the incident at Auten Road, the girl saw a man while she was leaving the first-floor bathroom.
"This unknown individual then began to yell at this student because she was out of class. The victim retreated to the bathroom stall and this individual left the bathroom," the report stated.
Police have patrolled the school each morning since the incident, but made no arrests as of press time, Hillsborough Lt. Victor Kubisch said.
Students were unharmed during both incidents, but the stories trouble parents nonetheless.
"Certainly it startled me," said parent Anne Kindfield. "I felt a little bit more nervous when I heard that it happened in a bathroom … a bathroom has certain implications."
Dawn Louis, whose daughter attends Auten Road school, said the incident compounds her mounting concerns which first arose when a school bus left her daughter at school twice in as many weeks.
"God forbid, if there is a stranger, he could be standing out there," she said.
Ms. Louis said her fears were mildly allayed when Principal Hal Blackstone said police would be patrolling the school for an undetermined period of time. She said that no one adequately monitors the front hall.
"It’s quite chaotic in there," she said. Recalling when she picked her daughter up early from school, she said, "I could’ve walked out with her. Nobody would’ve noticed."
Mr. Blackstone did not return calls for comment.
After buses drop students off at 9:15 a.m., all side and back doors are locked and school officials monitor the front entrance, Superintendent of Schools Robert Gulick said.
Ms. Louis said students should all enter through the front door.
"I don’t understand why buses are dropping kids off at different doors," she said.
Dr. Gulick refuted the claim she and others made about inadequate security.
"I think the review resulted in making certain that all of the human systems that we need to have in place are in place," Dr. Gulick said.
He previously criticized Sunnymead officials for the temporary loss of two students.
Augmented security could come in the next two school years with the budgeted implementation of security systems that require visitors to identify themselves before being allowed into the building.
Presently, Woodfern and Hillsborough elementary schools have buzzer systems.
But Tracy Stys, who has a child in Woodfern, said the system has not brought her peace of mind.
"They’re not using it anymore. I’ve been over there on numerous occasions and they’re not using it," Ms. Stys said.
Principal Matt Hoffman said the buzzer was not in use full-time due to mechanical difficulties, but will be used at all times again soon.
"We’re going to go back to using that system daily so all exterior doors will be locked," he said.
"It certainly gives parents a sense that we have much better control over who enters the building," he said.
But Ms. Kindfield said security systems like that at Woodfern gives parents a false sense of safety.
"I really am not a fan of the lockdown kind of feeling," she said.
Resident Michael Detsis said installing the system translates into allotting funds for a job that school officials should do.
The 2003-04 school budget allotted $28,267 to implement the buzzer system in the four elementary schools that do not have one. The items, which are slated to be lease-purchased, would cost a total of $84,801, Dr. Gulick said.
"Buying toys to solve an administrative problem is never the answer," Mr. Detsis said. The incident at Sunnymead could have been solved by the cost-free method of counting heads, he added.

