LAUSD still to decide if school will resume Monday; Pasadena schools closed all next week
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School districts affected by the devastating fires had challenging decisions to make Friday about when to reopen schools.
Los Angeles school officials will not make a decision about reopening campuses until late in the weekend, Supt. Alberto Carvalho said Friday morning.
All schools operated by the Pasadena Unified School District will be closed all of next week, officials announced Friday afternoon.
Carvalho said that while the weather forecast looked promising at the moment, there are too many uncertainties regarding wind conditions, air quality and the control of fires that continue to ravage the Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas.
“It’s still a dynamic situation,” Carvalho said Friday while taking part in a food and diaper distribution at Liechty Middle School on the western edge of downtown.
“The concern with pulling the trigger too soon is a fire, a new fire, may flare up. So we’re going to try to establish a fair balance between the conditions, the timing of the announcement, for the safe return of kids and workforce.”
Los Angeles faces another tense night as the Palisades fire moved northeast, prompting new mandatory evacuations.
Campuses were closed in L.A. Unified on Thursday and Friday. The district had tried to operate mostly as usual on Wednesday — a day after the fires erupted amid extreme winds — closing seven campuses. But as the morning unfolded, up to 200 others shut down after the start of the school day, although they were not imminently threatened by fire. An additional 100 shifted to a minimum-day schedule. The district has close to 1,000 campuses.
Many campuses lost power or internet service. Students and employees had trouble getting in or simply stayed home.
Looking ahead to Monday, L.A. Unified will monitor conditions through the weekend, Carvalho said, with the expectation of an announcement Sunday.
“We would love to put something out today,” the superintendent said Friday. “I don’t think it would be prudent.”
In the meantime, meal distributions continued at 16 locations across the school system. At Liechty Middle School, the district also highlighted help from the YMCA, which is making child care available for parents who must work regardless of whether school is open. Those interested should go online to the Y’s website for locations and hours.
“We’re coming together, making sure that our families are taken care of, health- and safety-wise,” said school board member Rocio Rivas, who also was at Liechty. “And, yeah, we’re getting prepared for next week, because these winds are going to pick up. There’s still red flag warnings that are in place, and we have to make sure that we continue to have strong systems and protocols to make sure that we’re taking care of our families.”
The decision faced by the nation’s second-largest school system is echoed at school systems across Los Angeles County, especially in Pasadena, which serves the Altadena community that was at the epicenter of the Eaton fire.
In all, five Pasadena Unified campuses suffered major damage, including three that were used by charter schools. But, if anything, that understates the impact.
“Nearly half of our employees reside within the evacuation zone,” Supt. Elizabeth Blanco wrote in an online announcement. “Many of them, like so many of our students and families, have lost their homes. The fire is at 3% containment. Mandatory and warning evacuation orders remain in effect, and air quality is characterized as ‘unhealthy.’ These conditions, combined with damage to school facilities and safety concerns, make it impossible to reopen schools for in-person learning at this time.”
On Friday, Pasadena Unified began a food distribution program that will continue through next week. Students will have access to self-directed, optional online learning materials at http://gopusd.com/learning
The much-larger L.A. Unified School District has three damaged campuses in Pacific Palisades, where the region’s other most damaging fire has raged — fueled by high winds. Two elementary schools could be total losses.
Las Virgenes Unified, which straddles the northwestern border of L.A. County, did not lose any schools, but that area, too, was threatened by fire. Campuses were closed from Wednesday onward.
“I hope we can open on Monday,” said Supt. Dan Stepenosky, “but I’m hearing there is another high-wind advisory scheduled.”
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