Metro school district says homeless nearby becoming a problem for student safety
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A metro school district is fed up after some recent run ins with the surrounding homeless population. Some of them have wandered on to school grounds and even pulled weapons on security.
"If we have people that are un-housed, that are probably dealing with some mental health issues, some drug addiction that have very little to lose, certainly I don't want our students around them,” Crooked Oak Supt. Bradley Richards said.
Richards said his district’s students are still ending up in those situations too often. Their most recent problem was a man allegedly climbing their fence and disabling one of their security camera’s.
"We were thankful that this camera was able to get a good picture of who this person is and help us possibly identify who it is to get him off the street,” Oklahoma City Police Dept. Sgt. Dillon Quirk said.
That incident was on a weekend. But problems have persisted beyond that.
"We've had two or three incidents,” Richards said.
He said a man got into and on top of their press box at their football field and eventually threatened to jump. In another situation Richards said a man came in through their gates asking to speak with students before he was confronted by security.
"He was obviously dealing with some mental health issues and actually pulled out a hatchet,” Richards said.
That same person allegedly tried to get into their gym a week before with kids inside. A homeless encampment sits within the trees just west of their sports complex off Eastern. Richards said it’s just a matter of safety.
"We found syringes and stuff down around that area and we have kids there, so, we're always concerned,” he said. "We're not heartless. We do help families that are struggling with housing and different things. But my main goal, my main priority is the safety of our kids."
Richards added that they’ve had conversations with legislators to discuss a bill for the 2025 legislative session that wouldn’t allow a homeless encampment within 1,000 feet of a school.