Hello Everyone,
First, this is a reminder that there is a Board Meeting tonight at 6:00pm, part of which will be focused on the situation at Anderson. I sent details on that yesterday. We have a very full agenda, and while I cannot promise any re-ordering of items, I believe the Board will consider moving this item higher in the agenda based on the number of people present for the item.
I want to emphasize that all decisions made with regard to the electrical outage at Anderson have been focused on two things: (1) ensuring the site was safe, and (2) getting students and staff back to physically attending school as soon as reasonably possible. It is our firm belief that students learn most effectively when they are present with their teachers, support staff, and peers in a safe and supportive environment. The decision to bring students and staff back to campus Thursday was made after numerous consultations with safety experts and agencies.
In speaking with the Anderson staff last week, I shared that depending on how the situation at the site unfolded, we could be in a position where we would need to relocate students and staff from Anderson to other locations in the District. Unfortunately, we have reached the point where we must do this. We were able to identify a temporary solution that allowed us to bring students and staff back to campus safely, which has allowed Anderson to conduct school largely as normal. We had several challenges that the outage created that are being worked on – two in C Wing and one tied to the fire alarm – for which solutions have been identified and are in progress.
While there are many challenges which led to why we now need to relocate students and staff, the fiscal impact is a significant one. We have three generators providing power to the site, which we currently have operating from 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. The monthly projected cost of the generators (including fuel and rental) is $52,000. To utilize them for the remainder of the year would be a total projected cost of $312,000. The generators have also raised concerns about the exhaust that they produce, and, while the emissions are well within standards and affirmed by Air Quality Management as being safe for school, we recognize that this continues to be an area of concern. In short, the generators are a safe and effective short-term solution, but they are not a viable long-term solution.
The decision to move students and staff to other sites in the District was not taken lightly. As I told the Anderson staff last week, it would be the last option we would consider as it is disruptive and challenging for everyone. However, with so many unknowns regarding Anderson right now we are not confident that we can provide an appropriate environment consistently and without interruption for the remainder of the year on that site. While relocating out of Anderson will be difficult, we know that doing so is our best option to provide a safe, fully functioning school to students and staff.
We have already spent numerous hours assessing the Anderson site, examining capacity at other sites, considering the many logistical issues that we will need to plan for a relocation of students, and all the other considerations involved in this situation. This work began on the first day of the outage, and has continued since. As stated above, our work has always been centered on ensuring students and staff are able to attend school in person in a safe manner, and this will remain our focus as we transition Anderson students and staff to other sites.
We will be discussing options with the Governing Board this evening, and again encourage anyone with an interest to attend or watch online through the DUSD website.
https://dixon-ca.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3
Regards,
Superintendent Brian Dolan