How close is too close to a school?

[+Wolfiesden]

Let me begin by saying I fully get the rule about not on school property. Too many creeps out there and we don't want them using this hobby as an excuse.

 

There is a city park that abuts the back of a school. The actual school property is about 2 blocks from the end of the park I am thinking about putting a cache at and (using the map here) about 750 feet from the school property. The park is large enough to have 4 baseball diamonds with a soccer field in the middle. Two of the baseball diamonds abut the rear of the school property. The cache is to be at the opposite end. The school does not let the children in the park at recess etc. I am sure some walk through the park going and coming from school (I assume, never been there at dismissal). While I would like to put a cache there (good spot picked out), I am not sure if it would pass muster here. Next Monday I will be there with Serena and her soccer practice and can take some photos for reference.

 

There is a public bathroom in the park. Its not fenced. It is a public free access park.

 

Here is a lat/lon to the park if yall want to poke it in and see the map.

Latitude: 42.977 Longitude: -87.890

Milwaukee, WI 53207

The cache is to be place in the east end of the park.

 

Thoughts?

[+DragonsWest]

Sounds pretty safe to me.

 

I'm bugged when I see people put stuff on school property or on a school property fence.

[+StarBrand]

As long as the cache otherwise fits nicely into all of the guidelines, I personally don't see any issue with your proposed cache and proximity to the school.

[+Wolfiesden]

Thanks folks. I am just trying to err on the side of caution and protect the kids.

[knowschad]

Thanks folks. I am just trying to err on the side of caution and protect the kids.

 

What grade level school is it? That can make a big difference.

[+briansnat]

There is no hard and fast distance rule. Consider two things. 1. Is it on school property? Even if it is a ball field a mile away from the school, if it is school property it's a no go. 2. Might searchers be observed from school property and cause alarm? A cache a half block away from a school in an urban area might be perfectly fine, while a cache 200 yards from a school in rural Kansas might not.

 

If in doubt ask your reviewer.

[+The A-Team]

What grade level school is it? That can make a big difference.

Google Maps says it's an elementary school.

 

@Wolfiesden: I don't see any problem with that spot. Of course, the other end of the park would be too close to the school. In the end, though, it isn't our opinion that matters. It's your local reviewer that will be the ultimate judge of whether your spot is too close to the school. We can give you an educated guess, but they can give you a definitive answer.

[AZcachemeister]

A lot/most of the parks in my area (metro Phoenix) are right next to schools, and caches are place in them without incident all the time.

I've even seen a few attached TO THE FENCE SEPARATING THE PARK FROM THE SCHOOLYARD!! I wasn't amused, but presumably the reviewer noticed and thought it was OK.

 

In Arizona, school properties are considered parks after school hours.

[+SoloSeekers ヅ]

I too have a cache in a park adjacent to an elementary school, and I had to explain to the Reviewer that the School yard is completely fenced off from this park and the only way to access the School yard from the park is to walk around the fence via the sidewalk, and also, that this park is open to the public.

[+BigChiefS4]

There's one in St Paul that is ON the building that is used for a daycare. I know it's not a school, but the kids are even younger. I don't know how it ever got published. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC1G3AJ

[+dakboy]

There's one in St Paul that is ON the building that is used for a daycare. I know it's not a school, but the kids are even younger. I don't know how it ever got published. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC1G3AJ

There is one near a daycare in my area as well. It's actually between the daycare, a nearby middle school, and the town offices & library. I was shocked when I saw that it was published there, and posted a note immediately advising finders to avoid normal school days/hours. In good weather, the kids from the daycare are allowed to play right at the cache location by the providers.

 

The only argument I can make in its defense is that the cache is positioned such that a finder will be blocked from view of the daycare when actually grabbing the cache, and it is about 250 feet from the building. But it's a very exposed position, up on a hill in plain view from 3 sides.

Edited March 28, 2012 by dakboy

[+Castle Mischief]

Let me begin by saying I fully get the rule about not on school property. Too many creeps out there and we don't want them using this hobby as an excuse.

 

Because creeps need an excuse?

 

I think the guideline is more directed at the perception of "strange objects" hidden near schools and the perception of "strange men" lurking near schools than it is to ward away actual pervets from schools or somehow deny them a reason to be there in the first place.

[+Davequal]

http://coord.info/GC38JRJ

 

One of my caching buddy's cache. Not on school property, he made 3 or 4 trips with a camera, taking pictures to show to the reviewer that it was not school property. He had a hard time getting it published.

[knowschad]

http://coord.info/GC38JRJ

 

One of my caching buddy's cache. Not on school property, he made 3 or 4 trips with a camera, taking pictures to show to the reviewer that it was not school property. He had a hard time getting it published.

 

Just the fact that he was able to make 3 or 4 trips there and take pictures without getting arrested would be enough to convince me. I wouldn't even need to see the pictures.

[+Wolfiesden]

There is no hard and fast distance rule. Consider two things.

1. Is it on school property?

(1a) Even if it is a ball field a mile away from the school, if it is school property it's a no go.

2. Might searchers be observed from school property and cause alarm?

(2a) A cache a half block away from a school in an urban area might be perfectly fine, while a cache 200 yards from a school in rural Kansas might not.

 

If in doubt ask your reviewer.

 

1. NO, absolutely not it is >750' from the property. Its a public park NOT school property.

 

1a. As I said, the kids are not sent out into the park at recess. I spoke with a parent who has a kid going there while Serena was at soccer practice. I told the parent I was thinking of walking my yorkie there when I asked if they let the kids out during the day and she pointed to the play area near the school building and said people walk their dogs there all the time like she was (she was walking her dog). (how was that for covert?)

 

2. Yes, searchers could possibly be seen from the school property. You would need binoculars or a decent 100-200mm DSLR lens to make out what they were doing though.

 

2a. Urban area. Milwaukee Wisconsin, very urban.

 

What grade level school is it? That can make a big difference.

Google Maps says it's an elementary school.

 

@Wolfiesden: I don't see any problem with that spot. Of course, the other end of the park would be too close to the school. In the end, though, it isn't our opinion that matters. It's your local reviewer that will be the ultimate judge of whether your spot is too close to the school. We can give you an educated guess, but they can give you a definitive answer.

It was the educated guess I wanted. I now have the name of the reviewer (she is working my first cache right now). I wanted to pose the question first before I bother the reviewer. I assumed they had enough to do than be bothered with questions like this. If the overwhelming response to this thread was in the "no way" category, I wouldn't even bother her and would find another location. It seems that most think its reasonable so I will pose the question to the reviewer.

 

Let me begin by saying I fully get the rule about not on school property. Too many creeps out there and we don't want them using this hobby as an excuse.

 

Because creeps need an excuse?

 

I think the guideline is more directed at the perception of "strange objects" hidden near schools and the perception of "strange men" lurking near schools than it is to ward away actual pervets from schools or somehow deny them a reason to be there in the first place.

No, they don't need excuses to be pervs. I meant it would provide an excuse to demonize geocaching as a "contributor" to the problem by headline munchers. I do NOT want that publicity and neither do you I presume. THAT is what I want to avoid and asking for a reasonable judgment call from cachers FAR more experienced than I before I bother a reviewer.

[+jellis]

Let me begin by saying I fully get the rule about not on school property. Too many creeps out there and we don't want them using this hobby as an excuse.

 

Because creeps need an excuse?

 

I think the guideline is more directed at the perception of "strange objects" hidden near schools and the perception of "strange men" lurking near schools than it is to ward away actual pervets from schools or somehow deny them a reason to be there in the first place.

No, really it's not an excuse for creeps, it's what the staff at the school sees. They see strangers outside the school hanging around and they have no idea who you are or why you are there.

It's how parents feel too when they see strangers lurking (searching for a cache) near playgrounds in a park.

[+dakboy]

Let me begin by saying I fully get the rule about not on school property. Too many creeps out there and we don't want them using this hobby as an excuse.

 

Because creeps need an excuse?

 

I think the guideline is more directed at the perception of "strange objects" hidden near schools and the perception of "strange men" lurking near schools than it is to ward away actual pervets from schools or somehow deny them a reason to be there in the first place.

No, really it's not an excuse for creeps, it's what the staff at the school sees. They see strangers outside the school hanging around and they have no idea who you are or why you are there.

It's how parents feel too when they see strangers lurking (searching for a cache) near playgrounds in a park.

It's a very sad commentary on today's society that the first thing anyone thinks when they see an individual (usually male) anywhere near a school or park is "must be a pedophile."

 

What's worse is that no one is taking a stand (at least in the parks) and engaging in legit activities just to prove these busybody nanny-state-loving people wrong.

Edited March 28, 2012 by dakboy

[+SpaceGamer]

The location sounds great to me. I have a cache in a similar situation and it has some unique maintenance challenges. Kids will find it and they will come to visit it often for fun. This is especially true if it becomes the sample used for a school geocaching program. Valuable swag, trackables and sometimes the container will disappear. Kids that trade will often leave things like crayons and candy that melt and leave messes to clean up. The logs are rewarding, but it has been an experience.

Edited March 28, 2012 by SpaceGamer

[+SwineFlew]

I got a cache near a school and its not on school ground. I explain everything to the reviewer and it was published. Its out behind the ballpark.

 

http://coord.info/GC3CH1Z

[+Wolfiesden]

You folks are great! Some really good feedback here. I feel better about asking the reviewer now. Thanks everyone.

[Ameliaonstage]

Double post

Edited March 30, 2012 by Ameliaonstage

[Ameliaonstage]

There is a geocache by my school. Quite close in fact. I wanted to find it before school, so I walked over. (walked, not ran) and found it and came back in less then 3 minutes.

Finding it took the most time so you can see how close it was.

[Clan Riffster]

2. Might searchers be observed from school property and cause alarm?

From my perspective, that's the most important question. If I were to hide a cache near a school, I would place it in such a manner that no part of routine cache seeking, (parking, hiking, diving into the bush, poking about, signing log), could be observed by anyone on school property or engaged in school business, such as crossing guards guiding the wee ones across the roads. It just isn't worth it, given the tendency for those in public education to blow stuff way out of proportion.