Simi Schools Get Grant for Disaster Plan

The Simi Valley Unified School District has received a $173,580 federal grant to update its emergency response and crisis management plans, officials said Monday.

The district will use a portion of the money from the U.S. Department of Education to establish a planning team made up of people from the community, the fire department, the city, public health agencies and the courts.

The team will advise the district on ways to enhance its response to, and recovery from, a natural disaster or crisis, said Lowell Schultze, the district’s assistant superintendent for business services.

Some of the issues they will consider are: training students and staff to respond to an emergency; setting up public information and communication programs; creating an emergency operations center; and equipping all 28 schools with emergency supplies.