By Gretchen Webster
WESTPORT — The plan to limit use of school grounds to students, staff and invited guests during school hours met with opposition at Wednesday’s Board of Selectwomen’s meeting.
Nevertheless, the new regulation was approved unanimously.
The board did, however, approve a sense-of-the-meeting resolution suggesting officials figure out a way to allow the use of Wakeman Park during school hours.
That came after a after a group of dog walkers and others protested the new Parks and Recreation Commission regulation.
The 27-acre Wakeman Park is adjacent to Bedford Middle School and Staples High.
The Westport Community Gardens adjacent to Long Lots Elementary School was not included in the Wakeman Park resolution. Those with plots will be prohibited from the gardens during school hours.
Several people, mostly dog-walkers, disagreed with the new regulation that has been endorsed by the Board of Education, the Parks and Recreation Commission, Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice and Police Chief Foti Koskinas. They were protesting, in particular, the prohibition of the use of Wakeman Park.
“Living in Westport, one of the pleasures is to have that outdoor recreation area,” said Stephen Parnes of Crestwood Road, representing a group of more than 10 dog owners. “Walking the dogs, watching them play together … is one of the pleasures of living here.”
“To take that away from us is a major issue …” he said. “I’m sure there’s a resolution that doesn’t reduce the rights of Westport taxpayers from using a recreational facility.”
Some parents at the meeting wondered why the safety of their children wasn’t the top priority of other residents.
Tina Degroot of Greenwood Lane, a Long Lots mother, said the endorsement by the police chief and superintendent of schools should be enough.
“When our police chief speaks, we listen. …” she said. “There is nothing that is more important than the safety and security of our children and our teachers.”
“If somebody comes to me and says … you can make a difference, you can keep them safe, I will do it in a heartbeat and I would do it gladly,” she said. “There is no walk I can’t have somewhere else, there is no tennis match, and there is no flower that is more important than their safety.”
Another parent, Veronica Tysseland, addressed the dog owners.
“I want to remind people that not everyone loves dogs, and there is a place where they belong — and that’s Winslow Park.”
Selectwoman Candice Savin, who served five years on the Board of Education, questioned why the regulation had not been discussed by that body in a public session.
Several speakers made the same point.
“It seems odd to me that this didn’t go there for any input or talk in public,” Savin said.
Koskinas said several discussions had taken place with the Board of Education in executive session, because it was a security issue.
“It was provided as a recommendation,” Scarice said, attending the meeting by phone.
“There was a discussion in executive session. The rules governing this, to my understanding, are with Parks and Rec.,” he said, making a request to that commission, then to the Board of Selectwomen.
“It’s extremely peculiar to allow people on school grounds,” Scarice added, an opinion echoed by the police chief.
“We’re getting a little relaxed here because we haven’t seen any issues here,” Koskinas said. “The reality is there isn’t a school in Fairfield County, and we can go wider, that allows people on school grounds during school hours.”
Koskinas said more than once during the meeting that the regulation must be applied uniformly both to maintain security on school grounds and to avoid discriminating against some people who can’t use school grounds for recreational purposes, and those who can.
That applies to the Wakeman area fields, too, he said, because students park and walk along Wakeman Road next to the fields. And as for Wakeman Town Farm, also adjacent to the Bedford/Staples property, staff are trained in the same way as teachers and school personnel on what to do in an active shooter situation or similar threat. The farm is locked down if the adjacent schools are locked down, the chief said.
Selectwoman Andrea Moore agreed that people not affiliated with the school should not be allowed to use school grounds, but said more thought should be given to how to preserve the use of Wakeman Park during school hours.
Savin agreed that town officials should “re-look at the Wakeman piece.”
Koskinas said it was important to pass the regulation right away. He said he has horrible memories of the Sandy Hook tragedy and his presence at the reunification location for schoolchildren and parents that day.
“This is serious,” he told the selectwomen. “I urge you to approve this.”
The Board of Selectwomen approved the new regulation first, followed by a sense-of-the-meeting resolution that the use of the Wakeman Park property during school hours will be considered again. Both votes were unanimous.
Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.
Dog’s belong in Winslow?! And the beach October through April. And any public street, sidewalk, path, park, river bank, and even Town Hall where staff is delighted to hand out treats.
Not to be misunderstood…. Here’s a clarification: Just like it’s the responsibility of parents of little ones who scream, run, throw things and otherwise disturb the peace on beaches, in parks, restaurants, stores, movies and on airplanes, it’s up to dog owners to make sure their pets are well behaved.
I believe Wakeman Park should be exempted from the rules for much the same reasons as the Community Gardens, though at the gardens every authorized member is on record with the town, behind locked fence, and checked for sex-offender status.
Wakeman seems to have better status among our town leaders; it’s the dolphin caught in the net meant for tuna. Poor tuna.
This matter will be petitioned so that the RTM can weigh in. The Board of Education should also publicly address this issue as they have not, nor have they voted on the matter.
Further, if consistency is truly the objective, enforcement and penalties for non compliance of P&R regulations need to be well articulated, including for drinking alcohol on or near athletic fields. At the meeting, these questions were asked but not answered.
Further what is the plan to communicate the new regulations? Apparently many townspeople have no idea, including our police chief who said had no idea of the gardening hours for the last 20 years even though they are literally posted at the sight, in the current regulations, and listed as a condition in signed member contracts.
But will Jeff Weiser allow the petition to come to the floor?
This is about nothing more or less than spiting the Community Gardeners.
The Chief’s comments seem to say less about a threat to the children and more about him.
Should we block off Post Road in front of Kings Highway School during school hours? Seems like a more immediate physical threat.
I do believe that there is a way to preserve at least a portion of Wakeman Town Farm, which is not actually part of the Bedford/Staples campus, for public use during school hours. The park is 27 acres and a buffer could be created to keep the public at a distance from the Bedford parking lot (there is already a locked gate at the entrance from Wakeman Drive). In addition, there is constant programming at Wakeman Town Farm which needs access to Wakeman Drive, so where do we draw the line? Of course safety of students and teachers is paramount – but I think in this case it can include some access to people who rely on that space for recreational use without compromising security.
I agree that school safety is a vital issue for our town.
Starting with Columbine, all school shootings I recall were perpetrated by troubled young men, many of them students at the very schools they attacked. The only exception that comes to mind is the recent Nashville shooting done by a young transitioning biological female. Our focus should be on the mental health of our children. That is the responsibility of the parents of our students and the schools they attend. Parents and our schools must not ignore warning signs that children exhibit. It would be most helpful if our Police Department and school psychologists provide training of what parents and teachers need to watch for.
This new requirement shutting down Board of Ed property and contiguous town property seems primarily directed at peaceful gardeners, many of whom are well into senior status. Its proponents need to be precise in what is required. Will it bar parents and friends from attending school functions during restricted hours? Will it prohibit the long line of cars from dropping off students after 7:30 and picking them up before 4:30? Will deliveries of mail, cafeteria and school supplies be possible only at times not restricted? Will it bar contractors from coming on site to build a new school?
I would advise that if this new rule is necessary, it should be carefully drafted, perhaps by the town’s attorneys, not the Parks and Recreation Department.
Please include the fields around Bedford Middle School in your plan for school safety. You never know when something so horrendous as a school shooting is going to happen , which is the worst possible scenario. The teachers and students safety takes priority over the dog walkers and runners. They can use the dog park or their neighborhood.