La Cueva's security fence causes community uproar

La Cueva High School’s recent security measures have curbed public access to school grounds, leaving community members without recreational areas.

La Cueva has faced intense scrutiny from its surrounding community over the past few months after installing security fences around the campus that prevent anyone who doesn’t attend the school at Wyoming and Alameda NE from entering campus. This caused uproar from the surrounding neighborhoods, as many people in the community had previously used the school’s track and fields for personal recreation.

“It doesn’t seem correct, or fair, or right,” Sean Monteith said. “These facilities were built through the bonds that probably most of us voted for so that we would have forever-use of them.”

However, La Cueva has been more than willing to compromise with the community, offering to have the campus gates open for agreed upon hours each day, provided that outside of those hours non-students and staff leave the campus.

“A lot of our schools are also used as community spaces, because there’s a dearth of community spaces in the city, and so we have to balance between this, which is primarily a school, and the safety of the school … versus the community wanting to use it,” said Kizito Wijenje, the executive director of Albuquerque Public Schools’ Capital Master Plan.

The proposed compromise hasn’t been enough to satisfy some community members.

“It’s very unfair to close the facility to the public; after all, it’s funded by taxpayers,” David Salazar said a La Cueva’s community outreach meeting on Monday.

“The good people are being punished,” Monteith said.

But even with community pushback, the school district is holding firm in its decision.

“Change is hard, but we’re not shutting them out … they have it in their minds we’re shutting them out, we’re not doing that. What we’re trying to do is keep control, keep everybody safe, and allow them to use it but on a controlled, limited basis,” said Steve Gallegos, the chief of APS Police.

APS is currently accepting input from the community as to the best hours for the gates to be open for the public and will continue to do so for the next week.