District concerned about dogs on school property

CLINTONVILLE – With concerns about unleashed dogs on district property, the Clintonville Board of Education will review the policy pertaining to animals on district property at a future board meeting.

The topic was discussed briefly at the board’s Sept. 14 meeting during the portion of the meeting when district policies were discussed.

During the discussion, Clintonville Superintendent Troy Kuhn told the board that the district’s property is used a lot by the public, especially the walking trail on district property.

Since the start of the school year, Kuhn said he noticed that some parents bring dogs with them when they pick up their children and the dogs are not always leashed. Sometimes these dogs are let out of the vehicles.

Kuhn said even though the district has rules pertaining to animals on district property, he thinks the district needs to be more specific with those rules.

“I think it’s a matter of time before something happens,” Kuhn said.

Board Vice President Kris Strauman said this was a problem when she was the principal of Rexford-Longfellow Elementary School when it was located downtown.

“We posted people outside the door, and if somebody came with a dog, they had to remove it right away because all the kids were coming out of that door,” Strauman said. “We also had issues with dogs using the playground for their toilets and not picking it up. So yeah, we actually had to police that pretty well, so it’s not a new problem.”

For fenced areas on district property, such as the soccer and football fields, Kuhn said additional “No Dogs” signs have been added.

“However, I don’t want to lock that gate where the football and soccer entrance is,” Kuhn said. “We can lock that gate, but then that’s part of the walking trail that people have access to.”

Strauman asked if the district has cameras on the soccer and football fields.

Kuhn said the district does have cameras in those areas.

“Maybe it’s a matter of watching video and contacting people, too,” Strauman said.

She added that there is a city ordinance requiring the public to pick up after their dogs.

“In all of this, I don’t think dog feces, defecation, is going to cause a lawsuit, but a bite is, or a dog attack,” Kuhn said. “That’s going to be the big one. We do have people outside the schools all the time.”