High school students arriving late to class in Bend or La Pine, scrambling to find parking, might have noticed something in their way Monday morning — new fences locking small portions of parking lots.

On Monday, new fencing was finished at all six high school campuses in Bend-La Pine Schools to close gaps between existing fences and keep open areas secure. Some of these fenced-in areas included sections of parking lots that are now locked between 7:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m., according to an email sent to district parents. However, the goal wasn’t to make parking more difficult, but to keep students safe, said Julianne Repman, director of communication and safety for Bend-La Pine Schools.

“The goal of securing the perimeter was to limit the number of access points to the school, and that was a place we could limit access,” she said. “The intent was not to limit parking. … It just makes it easier to monitor access points.”

The fencing at the six high schools was added this school year, nearly finishing a districtwide effort to secure school campuses starting in 2006.

In addition, all of the high schools now have only one entryway that’s open for the entire school day — other exterior doors will remain locked.

At Bend High School, 411 feet of fencing was added, including two fences that closed off a small parking area and walkway along NE Alden Avenue, south of the campus. Repman said students frequently walk between classes in this area, which made it problematic that cars, animals and nonstudent pedestrians frequently used the street as a throughway.

Mountain View High fenced off a portion of its parking lot directly north of the football field, near where outdoor classrooms are held, Repman said. There are also fences closing off outdoor walkways around the campus.

Summit High’s new fences enclose a small portion of road in between its main parking lot and a smaller lot west of campus, creating a fenced-off lane from the school to its track.

No parking spots are fenced in.

At Marshall, the small lot between the campus and the baseball field was fenced in, and once construction is finished at the tech magnet school in early March, perimeter fencing will be placed around the campus, Repman said.

The new fencing at La Pine High doesn’t affect any parking or roads, but encloses open areas around the campus.

A small fence will be placed at the side of Skyline and Realms’ industrial building, not blocking any parking.

Repman said some small existing fences at the schools were replaced by higher borders.

— Reporter: 541-617-7854, jhogan@bendbulletin.com