Renewed Debate Over Long-Delayed Fence Plans After Jeep Crashes Into East Williston Elementary School

EAST WILLISTON, NY — After a Jeep plunged into an East Williston elementary school on Sunday, community members are raising concerns about the lack of school fencing.

A 77-year-old man was driving a gray 2019 Jeep westbound on East Williston Avenue when he experienced a medical episode and struck the North Side Elementary School at about 6:16 p.m., Nassau County police said.

During a Monday morning board meeting, a statement was read on behalf of Superintendent Danielle Gately and the East Williston School Board of Education:

"Yesterday evening's accident at North Side School was a stark reminder of how quickly unexpected events can occur. We remain incredibly grateful that this happened during the summer, when our building was unoccupied, and that no one
was injured. Our thoughts are also with the driver and everyone affected by this incident."

In the statement, the district shared they have acknowledged community member's questions about perimeter fencing:

"For the past eight years, the District has been involved in ongoing litigation with the Village of East Williston and a small group of residents regarding our proposed perimeter security improvements. The District has consistently maintained that, as a public school district, these improvements were appropriately approved through the New York State Education Department. The District began construction on the fence eight years ago. Litigation stopped that construction and prevented us from completing any perimeter protections."

The district said that although they do not believe the proposed fence would have prevented the Jeep from striking the school, they acknowledge their original plans "envisioned a comprehensive approach to protecting the entire campus."

The proposed plans included perimeter fencing and a stone retaining wall along the East Williston Avenue property line. This was the same wall as the currently existing one at the Village Green, the statement read.

"In an effort to address concerns raised by the Village, the perimeter protections were revised by removing the retaining wall to address those objections," the district said. "Our commitment has never changed. We will continue to pursue reasonable, thoughtful measures that enhance the safety and security of our schools while working through the legal process."

Diane from East Williston said North Side is the only school in the district to not have a fence, and she would like the school board to be held responsible.

"They need to be held accountable," she said. "Children's safety should be their number one priority."

A former employee of the school district told Patch that this is not the first time people have raised concerns about the lack of fences, and she is thankful that no one was harmed in this crash.

"It has been a long-standing concern of North Side faculty that there are no protections for the perimeter of the school property," she said.

She added that although she is thankful this crash did not lead to any injuries and she believed it to be an accident, it could have.

"The retaining wall in the front of the school would have stopped or slowed down the car that drove into the library," she said she believes. "We have been dealing with situations for decades where people purposely cause harm in places such as schools."

The former employee said a fence around the back perimeter of the school would provide an additional layer of safety for students, including helping prevent a child from chasing a ball into the road during recess or slowing a student who attempts to leave school grounds without permission.

"A fence would create a barrier a child would have to navigate, allowing an adult time to reach the child before they could leave the property," she said.

Along with all the more subtle reasons, she said the most imperative is to keep outsiders from walking school grounds.

"And then, there is the reality of today’s world of school shootings," she said. "Anyone could easily walk onto the back field at any time of day and approach a group of students or gain easy access to the building."

She understands a fence wouldn't protect in all circumstances:

"But it would create a hurdle, and sometimes it is in those few extra moments that a staff member has the time to react and prevent a tragedy," she said.

Newsday reported that there were discussions about building a fence back in 2018, but those plans were halted when a group of residents sued, and the process to build a fence has been prevented through litigation since.

The former employee told Patch that "Staff heard that they [group of residents] didn't think they would like the way it looked."

"It often takes a tragedy for enough people to see the true reality of a situation," she said. "The district and the board have been working to keep the children of the community safe, and it is community members who are prioritizing vanity and aesthetics over the safety of children and staff."

She hopes the driver makes a full recovery and that the community can be grateful no staff and students were in the building.

"Hopefully this is also the wake-up call the community needs to decide if allowing a small group of residents to interfere with the safety of the district's children," she said.