For those who travel on Pacheco Boulevard near Seventh Street, you may notice a change of scenery along the playgrounds of Westside Union Elementary and Los Banos Elementary schools.
According to Los Banos Unified School District Interim Superintendent Sean Richey, the district installed privacy fencing along the highway primarily for safety.
“We have had a few incidents this year at elementary sites where individuals were witnessed filming the children while they were playing at recess as well as loitering by the fence watching the children,” Richey said.
Richey continued, “There was also a situation where an individual performed a lewd act in full view of the playground. In each of these incidents, law enforcement was notified and dealt with the situation. After we assessed the number, the type, and the location of the incidents, we determined that it would be best to cover the fencing along the highway to reduce the risk of more incidents happening in the future.”
The district found a Los Angles based company called, Grasstik that specializes in privacy fencing. They installed the fencing last week. Richey said the cost of the Los Banos Elementary portion of the fence is $10,000 and the cost for the Westside fence, which is longer, is $27,000.
