Oceanside Elementary School to close due to earthquake safety concerns

Tears flowed at Reynolds Elementary School in Oceanside on Tuesday.

“It’s hard to see teachers cry. It’s hard to see crying parents and crying children,” said Reynolds’ parent and teacher organization president. “Everyone is really heartbroken because of this. It’s destructive.”

Julie Hammer told NBC 7 that the Oceanside School District’s decision to close Reynolds Elementary School affects everyone associated with the school.

Engineers say the ground under the school will not be safe during a major quake, according to NBC 7’s Dave Summers.

Hammer’s job as president of PTO is to support students and staff for the next four months. As a mother of three children who attend school, she has a different opinion: “We don’t feel heard at all in this area. We don’t think they listen to us.”

This is not the first time the Oceanside Union School District has said it wants to close Reynolds. In 2001, there was talk of closing the aging school, but after a bond measure was taken to help pay for improvements to the district’s campuses, plans were made to renovate Reynolds.

Those plans were canceled Monday after the county received an engineer’s report detailing possible underground liquefaction that could flood buildings.

Parents who spoke to NBC 7 the day after the decision say they read the 176-page report and see the findings differently. They pointed to two specific references on page 9 that read: “…no active faults known to underlie or protrude into the site; thus, the likelihood of a fault rupturing at the site is considered low.”

Dave Summers of NBC 7 explains the threats to Reynolds Elementary School in Oceanside.

There is also a link on the same page that says the school site has a “low risk of liquefaction”.

The report lists possible solutions to secure the ground under the school buildings, but the district has decided to close the school and relocate students and staff for their own safety.

“They closed for safety reasons, which we don’t think is right,” said Molly Martin, whose twin is 3rd classmates visit Reynolds. “We only have a report for a few days, but if you read it, they say the school site is completely safe as it is,” she added.

Martin was asked by NBC 7 if she would send her children to a school she felt was not safe. “No, of course not. None of us parents would. Teachers wouldn’t fight to keep their jobs in an unsafe school. There wouldn’t be staff. I live two blocks away. You think a magnitude 5+ earthquake will hit my house? I don’t move. We have earthquake insurance. Do you think they would insure my house if they thought the soil liquefaction that affects the entire Northern District was a problem? It’s not.”

Martin said the district did not provide answers about which schools their children would be transferred to or how far away they would be.

A district spokesman told NBC 7 that all students will be sent to schools within a two-mile radius of their homes.

Oceanside Unified School District released this statement the day after the decision was made:

“After careful consideration, on March 13, 2023, the Oceanside Unified School District Board of Education voted to close Reynolds Elementary School effective June 2023. The soil conditions at Reynolds Elementary School were determined to be unsuitable for the planned construction. Tests revealed liquefaction of the soil. Soil liquefaction is a loss of soil strength that causes the soil to temporarily become liquid. During an earthquake, this can lead to flooding of buildings and other damage.

The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority for both those visiting now and those in the future. We know everyone has been looking to modernize this campus, and we understand the frustration the community may be feeling.

The Board of Education will meet again to discuss additional Del Rio ground test results, Reynolds student school boundaries, and program placement. This meeting will take place:

Thursday, March 23

18:00

Chavez High School

202 Oleander Dr.

We want to assure the community that no Reynolds employee will lose their job. Our wonderful team at Reynolds will be moving to other schools in the district. Their talents and dedication to students will impact the lives of families in their new assignments.

All of our elementary campuses are equipped to meet the social and emotional needs of our students. Each school has a full-time counselor. The district also offers additional support to students and their families. Please feel free to use these free resources during this transition.

We know that each of Reynolds will bring to their new campuses what makes them exceptional and a new sense of belonging.”

Content Source

California Press News – Latest News:
Los Angeles Local News || Bay Area Local News || California News || Lifestyle News || National news || Travel News || Health News

Related Articles

Back to top button