Pell School Playground Neighbors Air Concerns about Trespassing "Troublemakers"

NEWPORT, RI—Residents who live near Claiborne Pell Elementary school again brought their concerns about trespassers, noise and other problems associated with the after-hours use of basketball courts at the school on Tuesday night, but they're unlikely to find a quick solution anytime soon.

Jennifer Jackson of Dudley Avenue is among a number of neighbors who say they've been put upon by trespassers in their backyards at night. She and other residents said they're upset, concerned and sometimes fearful.

"It's awful to come home and find five kids in your swimming pool," said resident Michelle Ferguson. "Not to mention the danger," if one should drown, she said.

The trespassers are primarily teens and young adults drawn to the school playground basketball courts, the neighbors said. Some are teens, while others are as old as 20. Besides playing basketball, using bad language, and doing other objectionable things, they also climb over the school fence—and any property fences—and go into the neighbors' yards.

The youths can see over the fence because the Pell School construction raised the foundation and also caused flooding, she said.

Jackson and other neighbors have repeatedly appealed to the school committee to deal with the nuisances.

"We've been coming here for years," Jackson said and asked "why it keeps getting swept under the rug."

School Committee member David Carlin said he had hoped to end the impasse Tuesday night.

"I feel so bad for you," he told the neighbors. "I don't know how to express it."

He proposed planting a bamboo barrier along the Dudley Avenue fence behind the school, an idea Jackson had suggested earlier.

Instead, the school department built a fence at a cost of $12,000, Jackson said. She was appalled about the expenditure, since the money could have been used for school programs. Bamboo was an inexpensive alternative, she said.

But school officials said the idea wasn't feasible.

"Bamboo is not possible; it will go everywhere," said Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain. Scott Wheeler, Newport's tree warden, recommended against it. So did Thomas Harrop, the school building superintendent.

"I'm not asking for Mr. Harrop's permission," Carlin replied, saying a solution was long overdue.

"We've had enough," he said. "Enough."

Later, Carlin amended his action item to eliminate any reference to bamboo after it became evident the majority of school board members opposed it.

But he continued with the second part of his action item—a proposal to change the playground's hours of operation.

Currently, the playground is open until sunset, he said. Since the school committee sets the schedule, he suggested closing the playground except during school hours until the summer when the school board could revisit the issue.

It would send a strong message, he said.

Legally, police cannot remove people playing basketball, if they're there during the hours of operation, he said. He suggested people could apply to the School Committee to use the playground, and the facility would be open for all school-approved activities.

"We're rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic," Carlin said and added it was time to try a different strategy.

But Rebecca Bolan, a school committee member, thought closing the playground would be unfair to the other children.

"Go back to your days in elementary school," she said. Perhaps everyone could remember being punished because other students talked, she said.

"So now, you don't get recess," she said. Although she does not know how to solve the problem at the Pell playground, she advised the board to "look for other solutions."

School Committee Member Sandra Flowers said she had suggested "somewhat in jest" that poison sumac be planted. She acknowledged the youths were "troublemakers" but maintained the committee must focus on the "real problem."

"The real problem is the Housing Authority," Committee Member Robert Leary said. He said bigger kids are moving the young children off the playground.

"Shame on the Housing Authority," he said.

Jermain said the Housing Authority had been invited to meet with the committee but was unable to attend the session, due to a schedule conflict.

"I do think it's a police issue," she said.

Board Chairwoman Jo Eva Gaines said the schools have taken steps to help the neighbors and will continue to study the problem. But she suggested dealing with the issue through a workshop, perhaps scheduled by the liaison subcommittee.

She also indicated the Housing Authority should build basketball courts on its property, since the older youths appeared to be coming to Pell to play basketball.

Ferguson wanted to know if she would be liable for a pool accident, despite the fact she had erected a 7-foot high fence around her yard. The trespassers had to climb "three fences to get into our yard," she said. "And they did it."

The neighbors said the trespassers use the school fence, which is four feet high, to swing over the property fences.

Jermain agreed to look into removing the 4-foot-high school fence and suggested Ferguson call her insurance company about the liability questions.

"Kids need to learn consequences," Jackson said and added if these youths land in trouble "for the wrong choices in life, then maybe they'll learn and turn a new stone."

Carlin and Leary voted in favor of changing the playground's hours of operation, but the motion was defeated 5-2.