Houston 來了個混帳教育局長

Barbed wire fencing no longer will greet visitors to HISD campuses, thanks to Superintendent Terry Grier's order that the prison-like protection come down.

Grier, who moved to Houston five months ago from San Diego, said he was surprised to see chain-link fences topped with a foot of barbed wire surrounding schools.

「I was thinking, 『Boy, is this HISD or is this a reform school or a penal school?' 」 Grier recalled of his early drives through the Houston Independent School District.

On Thursday, fencing contractors clipped the last strand of barbed wire at Scott Elementary School, wrapping up a three-month project to rid 68 schools of nearly 100,000 feet of the sharp stuff.

Some parents praised the move to give campuses more curb appeal, while others said they feared criminals would be more tempted to break in without the barbed wire. 「That's the negative aspect of it, thinking it looks like a prison,」 said Laurie Rodriguez, who has a grandson at Wainwright Elementary. 「But from a parent's perspective, our children are in there. If that barbed wire helps deter anyone from climbing the fence, I'm all for it.」

Fewer than a quarter of the schools in HISD had any barbed wire before Grier ordered it removed. Though it mightlook formidable, the barbed wire doesn't offer as much security as parents might think, said Delena Dow Lay of Dow Pipe & Fence Supply, one of HISD's fencing contractors.

「All anyone has to do is get wire cutters and cut the barbed wire. It's not going to keep anyone out,」 Lay said.

Christian Sanders, the principal of Patrick Henry Middle School, an aging building along the Hardy Toll Road, said the removal of the barbed wire changed more than the look of his campus. 「It does give a different feel. It's a very positive thing,」 he said. 「You wouldn't think that something as small as that could have an impact.」

Sanders said he isn't worried about increased crime. His school is getting security cameras installed this week.

The speedy removal of the barbed wire across HISD cost nearly $147,000. Many of the campuses will get entirely new fencing in the next 18 months thanks to the 2007 voter-approved bond, said Dick Lindsay, the district's chief business officer. Black vinyl fencing will replace the old, rusted chain-link around the campuses, while more expensive wrought-iron — traditionally found at schools in wealthier neighborhoods — will grace the front of the buildings.

That's welcome news to Carrie Consolvo, a mother and real estate agent who lives in the Oak Forest neighborhood. Her own children attend Oak Forest Elementary, a modern building with the vinyl fencing, she says, but Black Middle School next door stands out as an eyesore with its rusted chain-link and overgrown weeds.

Academics is most important, she said, but the exterior image of a campus sends a message to the community.

「If the facilities are outdated, it goes in line with having outdated technology and resources for children,」 Consolvo said. 「There's not a real sense of ownership or pride if it's not well-kept.」

ericka.mellon@chron.com