“…Staff also learned the importance of monitoring snow levels regularly roofs when snow begins to accumulate and regular monitoring will become an established
practice.” – Bend-La Pine Schools’ “Lessons Learned, Summary,” Feb. 2
That’s just one of the lessons learned by the staff and administration at Bend-La Pine Schools following the massive snowfalls—and the collapse of the gym roof at Kenwood School—in January. Through multiple days of school closures and massive efforts to remove snow from school roofs, lots of people have asked whether the school district did enough to protect students, what the processes were to assess risk and damages, and what new protocols will be in place for snow removal moving forward.
On Feb. 2, Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Shay Mikalson issued a statement, saying: “It is my hope that our readiness, response and recovery may be used by Bend-La Pine Schools and other school districts as model lessons for critical self-reflection on appropriate, proactive response to extreme weather events, like the 100-year snow storm our community has just endured.”
Along with that statement, the district issued a snow event timeline that gives the community a sense of the efforts that took place during the storms and snow removal process. The district also has a 2017 Snow Storm page with photos and other information, including a FAQs page.
This article appears in Feb 1-8, 2017.
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