Gate drama continues at Olathe high school following development

OLATHE, Kan. — A housing development next to an Olathe high school shut down a campus entrance. Now that construction is complete, school leaders want that entrance reopened.

The city of Olathe wants to talk about it first.

“Right now the only way to get our novice drivers or parents and potentially emergency personnel using a lighted entrance is blocked by a gate,” Breanna Francis a longtime teacher at the school said.

The entrance was a main entry and exit route for parents, students and staff for nearly three decades at Olathe East.

Once the development next to the school started that access stopped.

“I, in error, believed that when the construction concluded that like any other street in the city – my students and our staff would be able to use that street to leave our campus and to arrive at our campus each day,” Francis said.

Now construction is complete, and the gate is still closed. The school did open it for three weeks earlier this year, but the school staff says the city insisted it be closed.

One concern deals with congestion: without the entrance at 129th Terrace and Black Bob Road there are only two ways in and out of the parking lot.

The other safety concern is about pick up and drop off – what access for emergency vehicles would there be?

In March of 2022, Francis says she watched as first responders cut the gate open to let students leave the campus after a shooting.

“That visual was pretty upsetting to me – we had to cut our way out of our building,” Francis said.

Working for you, we asked questions to a city spokesperson.

The city sent this statement:

“The City of Olathe and the Olathe Public Schools will continue conversations regarding the gate at 129th Terrace and Black Bob Road to ensure the safety of all students and residents.”

The city wants a couple of meetings to take place with the district before going into detail about the gate.

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