Update: Superintendent recommends move to temporary campus be postponed
Update posted May 17:
– Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Superintendent Curt Dubost sent out the following update regarding the “anomalous feature” recently discovered under the Georgia Brown campus:
Dear Georgia Brown Parents and Staff:
A potential complication to our reconstruction plans for the 36th Street site has surfaced. As part of the state approval process for the modernization and construction, PRJUSD was required to do a geohazard soils investigation (geotechnical soils study) to identify any geological condition that is a potential danger. These include ground shaking, surface rupture liquefaction, tsunami, and landslides. From the results of the study, it has now been confirmed that an “anomalous feature” exists directly under the current campus.
I want to stress first and foremost that the Department of the State Architect has assured, based on the information they have reviewed, that there is no immediate danger to staff or students. It may be evidence of a long-gone riverbed or a potential seismic fault. We will not be permitted to proceed with the reconstruction until that question is resolved, which likely means major reconstruction at the site will not be permitted, at least as currently planned.
This obviously makes the scheduled move to the temporary site ill-advised until we know more, so I am recommending to the board next Tuesday night that the move to the temp campus be postponed. This delay will give us time to determine if there are any further cost-effective options to move forward with the existing plan. We will, I’m certain, also revisit several of the studies and alternative plans that were considered during the process that led to the current plan.
I assure you that all of those deliberations will continue to be made in full transparency and with translation services. I thank you for your patience through this entire difficult process and trust you see the wisdom in pausing any further implementation at this time.
I hope you will join us as we seek the best way forward to meet the short-term and longer-term facilities needs of the district given this new development.
Pending Board ratification of my direction at Tuesday’s Board meeting, Georgia Brown will start the next school year in August at the current site.
Dr. Curt Dubost
Superintendent
Initially, the district’s plans were to move the Spanish-English dual-immersion program at Georgia Brown to the recently remodeled Glen Speck Elementary School campus, while relocating Glen Speck students to Georgia Brown. The plan then called for remodeling Georgia Brown, located at 36th and Vine streets, into a smaller campus that would be suitable for about 317 students. The campus was then expected to be renamed Glen Speck Elementary School once those students move there.
While the remodel of the 36th Street campus was underway, the district intended to move current Georgia Brown students and teachers into a temporary campus at Flamson Middle School campus. The current Glen Speck Elementary School, located at 17th and Vine which has been remodeled to fit about 642 students, was expected to host the dual-immersion program this fall. That campus was then supposed to be renamed Georgia Brown Elementary School, according to reports. These plans have been put on hold due to the recent geologic discovery.
Original story posted May 16:
Department of the State Architect says there is no immediate safety issue
– As part of the state approval process for the modernization and construction of Georgia Brown Elementary at the 36th Street campus, the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District was required to do a geohazard soils investigation (geotechnical soils study) to identify any geological condition that is a potential danger. These include ground shaking, surface rupture liquefaction, tsunami, and landslides.
The results of the study found that an “anomalous feature” exists directly under the current campus, according to a press release issued by the district on Monday.
The superintendent wants to assure the community that the Department of the State Architect says there is no immediate safety issue.
This does, however, mean that any major modernization and construction at that site must be delayed, and pending what mitigations are required, it could mean that the district cannot rebuild there.
Given this development, district administration will be recommending to the board of trustees at their next meeting on May 23, that the impending move of the Georgia Brown Elementary staff and students to the temporary school site next to Flamson Middle School should be delayed until district administration can gather information and make recommendations that the board of trustees can use to make informed decisions.
If approved by the trustees on May 23, Georgia Brown Elementary will stay at its 36th Street campus for now.
“We are certain a wide range of suggestions for alternative plans will resurface, as well as new ideas,” said a district press release. “We will be recommending to the board at the same time what the process will be to invite community input for questions and recommendations.”
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