Orange County Grand Jury • 2010-2011 • Agency Response
Response to: Centralia School District 8/11, 135K

School District*

Published: August 02, 2011 5 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 7 findings

F1
With respect to reported constraints on emergency planning and preparation, over half of schools and almost three quarters of districts identified either limited time or funds. The Brea Olinda Unified School District agrees with this finding. If school districts had more personnel and resources available, districts would be better positioned to move forward with emergency management planning. At present, limited state funds are available and a federal grant program to support emergency management planning will end in Fiscal Year 2012.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Those districts which have yet to identify disaster grant opportunities, especially from governmental agencies, investigate the availability of potential resources. Forming inter- district collaboratives, learning from districts in the county that have been successful, pooling resources, and asking for consultation from the Orange County Superintendent of Schools/OCDE may help in these efforts. The Brea Olinda Unified School District has not received grants for emergency preparedness. In the future, our district intends to implement Recommendation 1 by identifying disaster grant opportunities and investigating the availability of potential resources.
F2
Six (of 17) school districts have managed to apply for and receive relatively large grants from governmental agencies to greatly enhance their emergency planning efforts, while others have not. The Brea Olinda Unified School District agrees that school districts should seek grant funding. The existing federal grant program will be phasing out in 2012 and other grant programs will need to be identified. This is especially problematic for smaller school districts with insufficient staff and/or resources available to seek additional grant funding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Districts review their plans, and the plans specific to each of their campuses, with respect to emergencies or possible disaster situations they have not anticipated. Each of our school sites has a written safe school plan drafted and submitted by March 1st of each year. The plan is reviewed each year and updated annually.
F3
Some schools anticipate responding to only a few emergency situations (e.g., earthquake and fire), while others have developed plans to respond to over a dozen different threatening situations. The Brea Olinda Unified School District agrees with this finding. Our school district has developed information for the following emergency situations: Bomb Threats Bus Accidents Closing of school due to emergency situation Disturbances, Disorders and Demonstrations Earthquakes ' En Route Accidents 3 Enemy Attacks Evacuations Falling Aircraft Fire Flood Hazard Materials Power Failures • Psychological Trauma Severe Windstorm Unauthorized Persons on Campus • African Honey Bees Air Pollution •
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Districts review their level of compliance with various existing codes, regulations, and liability insurance issues that pertain to emergency preparedness in public schools. The Brea Olinda Unified School District has implemented this recommendation by developing a school safety plan for each of its schools and working with federal, state and local emergency The District maintains sufficient liability insurance with respect to management agencies. emergency preparedness.
F4
School districts develop plans with respect to a number of different but overlapping regulations and standards, including those required by the county, state, and the federal government. The Brea Olinda Unified School District agrees with this finding. The Brea Olinda Unified School district has developed school safety plans in compliance with the Education Code. School districts are also required to comply with state and federal emergency management standards, Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS). Efforts should be made to make these requirements consistent with each other.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Districts review their plans, and the plans specific to each of their campuses, to ascertain whether the special medical and/or prescription medication needs of all students are adequately anticipated, especially during an extended disaster situation. The Brea Olinda Unified School District is currently reviewing its plans with respect to the special medical and prescription medication needs of all students and is developing a plan to meet these needs, in the event of an emergency.
F5
Some schools reported they have not adequately anticipated the needs of students taking prescription medications, or with specialized medical needs, in the event of some emergencies, such as an extended lockdown. The Brea Olinda Unified School District agrees that this issue should be addressed and the Brea Olinda Unified School District is focusing on how to meet all students' needs during an emergency. For example, we are examining how we adequately store medications in classrooms, e.g. refrigerators, locked cabinets.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Districts survey their campuses with respect to the needs of non- or limited-English- speaking parents and guardians, and develop outlines or summaries of critical emergency planning information in Spanish, Vietnamese, and other threshold languages prevalent in their local communities. In November 2008, the Brea Olinda Unified School District implemented an automated parent notification system which has the capabilities of communicating in multiple languages. Based on the District's demographic makeup, to date, emergency notifications have been communicated in English and Spanish to individual school sties where appropriate. The District continues to monitor the demographics of our population and will make appropriate changes as changes in student demographics warrant. . • • . . . ~
F6
School districts are in communication with a variety of local and county departments, agencies, and systems to help them prepare for and respond to disasters or emergencies; not all districts access the same resources. The Brea Olinda Unified School District agrees different districts may access different resources. It is our understanding that different districts communicate in a variety of ways with first responders, local agencies, and other agencies to support matters of emergency management. ì, The Brea Olinda Unified School District has a close relationship with the City of Brea Police and Fire departments. The City's Emergency Operations Center (EQC) is located on the same floor and building as the school district offices.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
Few schools have plans or emergency preparation information available in languages other than English. The Brea Olinda Unified School District has not prepared emergency information in languages other than English, but it is our intention to do so in the near future.
No recommendations for this finding

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.