Larkspur‑Corte Madera School District officials on Sept. 2 presented a package of proposed perimeter fencing and gate changes for Hall Middle School, Cove Elementary and Neil Cummins Elementary aimed at limiting unmonitored access during school hours. The district said the proposal is intended to keep campuses open to the public before and after school and on weekends while securing interiors during the school day.

District Superintendent Brett Geithman said the district launched a school safety task force after the district’s 2023 Local Control and Accountability Plan survey showed 25% of respondents had safety concerns. Geithman said the district received a $900,000 Stop School Violence Prevention grant that funded research, consultant work and staff training and helped underwrite the safety review.

The district summarized multiple studies, including a December 2023 community perception survey of about 1,100 participants and site evaluations from Keenan (the district’s insurance consultant) and Hanover Research. Geithman said perimeter fencing was among the “top three” safety measures identified in the community and staff surveys and that Keenan gave fencing a “red” indicator, signaling a considerable gap.

Architect Lianne of QKA presented renderings showing ornamental, six‑foot perimeter fencing at the three campuses, plus vehicle rolling gates at vehicle access points and interior gates between buildings to secure play areas. The plans call for gates to be unlocked before school, after school and on weekends and locked during school hours. The district said visitor check‑in (buzzer) systems would be retained.

Geithman cited multiple anecdotal safety concerns raised during the research, including repeated incidents of adults moving through campuses during recess and one documented incident about seven years ago in which an adult with a firearm on campus was arrested after staff called Central Marin Police. He said such incidents draw staff away from supervising students and increase demands on first responders.

Council members asked about emergency access for first responders and whether the fencing would extend to portable classroom areas and pedestrian paths to nearby parks. Geithman and Lianne said the district had coordinated gate locations with Central Marin Police and Fire and planned to provide emergency access tools (fobs/Knox boxes) and to extend fencing to connect portables along the blacktop where shown in the designs. Council members expressed general support and said they would help the district with outreach, but no council action was requested because the presentation was for feedback only.

District staff said the ornamental fencing would likely cost between $2 million and $3 million and is not covered in the district’s current budget; the district is pursuing additional grants and plans to seek Proposition 2 (school bond) funds for Neil Cummins and Hall Middle but said Cove is not eligible for Prop 2 funding and would require other district funds or additional grants. Geithman said funding and potential phasing would be addressed before the district returns a recommendation to its board of trustees.

The district identified other next steps as further community feedback, coordination with code and permitting agencies, and a Sept. 17 district meeting where the board of trustees will consider a recommendation.

Several council members thanked the district for the presentation and said they supported the goals of improving campus safety.