A Hanford West High School student was in critical condition last week, after an off-campus lunch-hour brawl put him on life support at a Fresno hospital.

The injured student was released from the hospital within two or three days of being admitted, according to Hanford police. But not before a flood of feedback from concerned community members. The question at hand was: Should high school students be allowed off campus during the lunch hour?

On Friday, local high school officials responded.

Bill Fishbough, superintendent of Hanford Joint Union High School District, said that incidents like this can happen when students are off campus.

Cheryl Hunt, principal of Hanford High School, said that there was a higher frequency of off-campus fights about three years ago, but most were taking place in the same three areas.

Once school officials identified those areas -- a nearby 76 station, a nearby mini-mart and Earl F. Johnson Park -- and made them off-limits to students, the problems decreased.

Students are still allowed to visit the two merchants, providing they make a purchase and leave the property immediately, Hunt said. Campus safety monitors also frequent those establishments on golf carts to ensure that students are behaving properly.

But businesses aren't the only place where student loitering has presented a concern.

Tenants of Lacey West Apartments -- near Hanford West at 1071 Goleta Way -- received a memo late last month reminding them that school is in session and students are not allowed to loiter on the property unless they live in one of the apartments or are accompanied by a student who lives there. No more than two or three students are to be with a tenant, according to the memo.

The school district has had a longstanding tradition of open campuses, but it is an issue that will need to be addressed as the district and the city continue to expand, Fishbough said.

There are no fast food restaurants around soon to-open Sierra Pacific High School's campus. Since the first class of students -- all freshmen -- probably won't have driver's licenses or cars, an open campus would necessitate an eating establishment within walking distance. That is why the district is fashioning Sierra Pacific's cafeteria in ways that reflect a restaurant and are appealing, because it is anticipated that students will be eating on campus, at least in the initial years of operation.

If the Hanford High and Hanford West campuses were to close and mandate that students remain on campus for lunch, some local merchants could be affected. Merchants around the campuses enjoy a heightened flow of business during school lunch hours, Fishbough said.

Also, the schools' cafeterias were not designed to handle the load of feeding 100 percent of the student population.

"It would be very difficult to feed 1,500 to 1,700 students in the current configurations," Fishbough said.

He added that the discussion of whether campuses should be closed arises periodically, and district officials subsequently look at their options -- open, modified open or closed campuses.

One option that many schools employ is a modified version of the open campus, allowing upperclassmen or only seniors to leave campus for lunch, as long as they are in good standing with the school.

This option has an added bonus in that the school can use off-campus privileges as an incentive for upperclassmen to attend school and be on time after lunch, Fishbough said.

Hunt said she would encourage district movement to a policy of a modified open campus, allowing just upperclassmen in good standing to leave campus. She added that the majority of Hanford High's student incidents involve younger students, and "we can protect kids here on campus."

To close the campus, schools would have to have the capability of feeding all students, which might mean offering two lunch hours, bringing in extra vendors to the campus or expanding the cafeteria, Fishbough said.

"I don't think you look at one incident and say we're going to make a change because of one incident," Fishbough. "We need to do what is in the best interest of students."

With the addition of Sierra Pacific, district officials will need to develop a new district-wide plan, though with the logistics of Sierra Pacific's location and student population, Sierra Pacific may require a separate policy, especially in its initial years of operation.

Fishbough added that it is hard for one campus to have one rule and another campus to have another.

"We don't want advantages or disadvantages to going one way or the other," Fishbough said.

Fishbough said Hanford Police Chief Carlos Mestas had his own opinions on the issue of open campuses, but he could not be reached after repeated calls on Friday.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2424.