NEW PICK-UP RULES CAUSE COMPLAINTS AT YUCCA VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Chaos reigned at a Yucca Valley elementary school this week as parents railed against new rules allegedly designed to keep their children safe. Reporter David Haldane explains…
Parents picked their kids up from Yucca Valley Elementary School yesterday without any handcuffs.
That was a departure from the day before when one dad was briefly detained for what a sheriff’s spokesman described as “unruly” behavior. No charges were filed and he was quickly released.
What sparked the confrontation was a change in policy regarding where parents can meet their kids; instead of waiting on the sidewalk, they were directed to a spot nearly a block away from the campus.
District officials said the new place was safer. Danielle DenHartog, for one—the mother of a kindergartner—strongly disagreed. “I felt horrendous. My daughter comes to me and the first thing she tells me is that she’s scared.”
Thing were calmer the next day after school officials relented, allowing parents to come closer. District Superintendent Tom Baumgarten, there with three deputies to ensure the peace, said the situation is evolving. “It just takes a little while to try and work through the kinks of it.”