PARLIER – Parlier Unified School District’s governing board, and members of the city council, recently explored ways to collaborate to best benefit the community.
On April 9, district leaders and city staff came together for their first joint meeting of the year. Intended to foster open communication between two of the city’s most important entities, the meeting covered community topics like e-scooter safety, safe routes to school and expansion of drug prevention education.
“Just being able to collaborate and ask questions of what’s going on in the city, and what’s going on with the school, that makes us a little bit stronger in being able to put these projects together and work together,” said PUSD Board Member Elena Gonzales in the meeting’s closing remarks.
E-scooter safety
District Superintendent Rafael Iniguez led the discussion around e-scooter regulations, citing his personal observations of local students not following the proper safety procedures as part of his motivation to highlight the topic.
Through the discussion, City Engineer Javier Andrade shared that during the upcoming Parlier Roundup event, which will run from April 23-26, the city will be hosting a bike rodeo to raise awareness on proper safety procedures, including those related to e-scooters and other conveyances.
Later on, Mayor Alma Beltran suggested that schools also look into finding some time during the day to better educate students on the importance of e-scooter safety. Iniguez voiced his support of this suggestion, adding that there could be an opportunity to expand the health class curriculum to briefly cover safe riding practices.
The Parlier Police Department has already been working toward spreading awareness, with a recent social media post aiming to educate the community on the three classes of e-conveyances, and the requirements to operate each one.
Interim Police Chief Michael Salvador explained that at the highest class of e-conveyances, Class 3, bikes and scooters can reach speeds of nearly 30 miles per hour, and many parents do not realize that the rider needs to be at least 16 years old.
“We’ve got to get to these kids as early as possible and we’ve got to get to these parents, because these parents are cutting checks and buying these things that they think are toys, but they are not toys,” said Salvador.
Although no singular way of spreading awareness for e-scooter safety was decided on in the meeting, all in attendance agreed that it was something that should be top-of-mind for the district, and will require partnership to effectively implement.
Safe routes to school
Later on, time was taken to discuss updates for street improvement projects along South and Madsen avenues, which both run alongside school sites.
Andrade shared that improvements to South Avenue have proven challenging to secure funding for, with the project still not being selected after three Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) grant applications.
He explained that CMAQ grants are competitive, and in order to score well, a project must connect two schools or connect neighborhoods to a school. With South Avenue being on the outskirts of town, it may be harder to make the case that it does either of these things.
“We’re going to keep applying, but we might have to look for other sources for South Avenue just because it’s at the edge of town,” said Andrade. “It doesn’t score good, but we will keep trying.”
Beltran took the opportunity to voice her support of the proposed “Better Roads, Safe Streets” measure, which she said could net Parlier $2.3 million a year and help fund projects like South Avenue.
Although South Avenue improvements have had a hard time getting off the ground, the Madsen Avenue project has recently secured $906,000, and is awaiting authorization from the California Transportation Commission in June. Once approved, the project will go out to bid, and is anticipated to be completed by December 2027.
A major aspect of the improvements will be what Andrade called “limitless lanes’, which will create dedicated pathways for cyclists along sidewalks to improve overall safety. He said during the meeting that these lanes are also being designed for other streets in the city like Parlier Avenue, and will create a network of trails to connect some of the city’s major schools.
Expanding drug prevention
As one of the meeting’s final items, Interim Police Chief Salvador shared some of his concerns regarding drug and alcohol use amongst youth, and some of the ongoing initiatives the department is implementing.
According to Salvador, vaping and tobacco use has been the most widespread issue, being even more pervasive than alcohol consumption and hard drugs. Making use of grant funding, the department will be hosting an anti-drug booth at the Parlier Roundup event, which will make use of educational materials and other outreach methods.
Another “silent killer” that’s been on the rise in recent years is fentanyl, and Salvador said that as new strains get more potent, the city needs to be prepared. He suggested that teachers and district staff receive training on how to use NARCAN, and to have it available in classrooms.
“This stuff is serious, and your staff can come in contact with this stuff and not even know it,” Salvador said.
District board members Eric Molina and Elena Gonzales expressed support of preparing staff to deal with fentanyl overdoses, but Gonzales pointed out that in order for one to administer that kind of aid to a student, it would require parent permission and inclusion in school handbooks. Salvador recommended that the district does so as soon as possible.
Iniguez closed out the item by thanking the chief for bringing these issues to the attention of city and district leaders, while also suggesting that schools further develop drug education as a preventative measure. Salvador agreed with this suggestion, and the pair plan to meet in the future to further discuss preventive and emergency measures.
