Springfield Public Schools says its recovery efforts are going well, after last week’s ice storm knocked out power and created hazards across its campuses, leading the district to declare an emergency.
As of Monday afternoon, the district reports that power has been restored to every school except Agnes Stewart Middle and Briggs Middle.
“We know that those buildings are the best place for our students to learn," said District Spokesperson Brian Richardson. “And so we're really focused on getting access to those buildings, and getting them up and running as soon as we can.”
Richardson said the buildings don’t seem to have suffered much damage, but the district still needs to examine the two without power. He said the outstanding outages are a utility issue, and likely not a sign of underlying problems.
“We don't have reason to believe that there was a lot of water that came in,” said Richardson, “but we're still waiting to do those moisture assessments once we get that power back on.”
Richardson said Springfield is preparing to open 17 of the energized schools Tuesday, as staff returned to work today. He said families should receive confirmation Monday evening.
However, Richardson said Thurston High will require a separate decision, as it only regained power late Sunday night, and wasn’t included in those initial discussions.
As students return, Richardson warns that the internet will still be down at some schools, and families should prepare for longer commutes due to hazards in the roads.
Meanwhile, South Lane School District has announced plans to re-open Tuesday.
