MONROE — Monroe High School no longer looks like a prison, to the relief of many students, parents, faculty and administrators.

A new, more aesthetically pleasing fence has been put up around the school, replacing the 30-year-old, rusty, barbed wire construction fence that has secured the building since it was built in the early 1970s.

"It looks a lot better," said MHS student Holly Johnson. "It doesn’t look like a jail anymore. It looks more like a school."

Two years of effort from the school district and the MHS Fence and Landscaping Committee made the new fence a reality. Sally Jaynes and Cindy Miller, who co-chaired the committee, were the prime movers behind the project.

Jaynes, a local real estate agent, said the old fence made an otherwise attractive community look bad, and it discouraged some people from moving to Monroe and sending their children to Monroe Public Schools.

"It looks bad when people drive in," Jaynes said. "It’s a beautiful school, but we don’t present it that way."

Aesthetics, and the fact that her daughter, Katie, attends MHS, motivated Jaynes to work with Miller and others to replace the old fence.

When the fence committee was formed, nobody realized how tough the job would be, Jaynes said.

The construction company that built the high school put the old fence up about 30 years ago. It was originally intended as a temporary fence to protect the construction site, but the district decided to make it a permanent barrier, said Operations Supervisor Mike Bross, who oversees all buildings and grounds for the school district.

Over the years, the school board discussed various ways of replacing the fence — like putting a berm, trees or new fencing around the school — or even scrapping it altogether, district officials said.

Taking the fence down with no replacement was considered unsafe in such a rural area. It was important that school authorities be able to control vehicles and people entering and leaving school property, Bross said.

The high cost of replacing the fence kept it in place for so long.

"It’s been a dollars-and-cents issue," said Rick Montcalm, assistant superintendent for business and finance for Monroe Public Schools. "There have always been other needs."

Deciding to take things into their own hands, Jaynes and Miller formed a committee to help the district pay for the fence.

"The school system was going to have to tear down the old fence and replace it, which would cost money," Jaynes said. "When we got involved, we decided to raise the money ourselves."

The process started last spring, acquiring permits and permissions for the construction project. Clearing the red tape was the most difficult part of the job, Jaynes said.

The project cost $45,000. The committee started a fund-raising drive last fall to meet the cost, and with help from students, faculty and local businesses, it is over halfway toward meeting its goal. The committee still needs to raise $20,000, Jaynes said.

"We’re really on a push for funds," she said. "We’re doing several fund-raisers. Quite a bit has been donated already."

La-Z-Boy, Meijer, Wal-Mart, MHS Class of 2002, Monroe Bank and Trust, Sylvan Learning Center, Rupp Funeral Home, MHS Choral Boosters and the MHS German Club all have made donations, Miller said.

The new fence is made of heavy, industrial aluminum with brick pillars placed at intervals. There is no barbed wire, Bross said.

"Nothing is foolproof, but it should be an effective deterrent," he said.

Construction started last fall, but has been delayed by cold weather. The new fence should be finished by the end of this month, Bross said.

"It’s an excellent project," Montcalm said. "It makes the site much more pleasant than what it was previously. It’s like day and night."

To make a contribution to the fence fund, call Cindy Miller at 1-734-241-1981 or Sally Jaynes at 1-734-241-8512. Checks should be made payable to MHS Fence Fund and mailed to Dr. Layne Hunt, Principal, MHS, 901 Herr Road, Monroe, MI 48161.