Kent School District officials released a statement that they “will do better next time” after late notifications about several school closures following the Wednesday, Dec. 18 windstorm.
The district ended up closing four elementary schools and two middle schools due to power outages.
“Making decisions regarding inclement weather is always challenging, especially with unexpected events like this morning’s (Dec. 18) gusty winds causing power outages,” according to the district statement. “This weather event was not on our radar as it could have been. A few members of the inclement weather team, along with Superintendent (Israel) Vela, began texting between 4:30 and 5 a.m. as we received notifications of power outages at school sites. The inclement weather team convened shortly after 5 a.m. to assess the status of current outages. At that time, we had limited information, and it appeared that two schools and a couple of neighborhoods were without power.”
Eventually, the district closed Soos Creek, Sunrise, Glenridge and Springbrook elementary schools and later closed Meeker and Northwood middle schools. All schools are on the East Hill area of the district.
“As the early morning progressed, the winds intensified causing additional power outages and simultaneous restorations,” according to the district. “We monitored the PSE outage map and attempted to contact a very busy PSE for updates. Our facilities and maintenance team were assessing the impact on our buildings through regular communication channels.
“High school buses begin their routes at 6:15 a.m., and middle school buses at 7 a.m. Information about trees blocking roadways was not received until after 7 a.m., by which time the high school and middle school buses were already moving forward.”
District staff took steps about the elementary school and two middle school closures. Students had arrived at the middle schools to find out there was no power.
“We continued to assess the four elementary schools without power and then worked to communicate their closures as well as prepare for the two impacted middle schools to get their students back home safely once we had buses to provide transportation,” according to the district.
The decisions taken by the district will be reviewed.
”Our inclement weather team will conduct a thorough after-action review to improve our response in the future,” according to the district. “We strive to make the best decisions promptly for our students, staff, and families, understanding the significant impact of these decisions. We apologize for any inconvenience or negative effects on our students, staff, families, and community.
“We will do better next time.”
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