Orange County Grand Jury • 2010-2011 • Agency Response
Response to: Magnolia School District

Magnolia School District*

Published: July 19, 2011 3 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 7 findings

F1
Executive Director Special Education & With respect to reported constraints on emergency planning and preparation, over half Student Services of schools and almost three quarters of districts identified either limited time or funds. The Magnolia School District agrees with this finding. If school districts had more personnel and resources, districts would be able to move forward with emergency management planning. BOARD OF TRUSTEES At present, limited state funds are available and a federal grant program to support emergency management planning will end in Fiscal Year 2012. Clifford E. Breeden, Jr.
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 Magnolia School District has not received grants for emergency preparedness, though we did apply previously. However, our district intends to implement Recommendation 1 by continuing to identify disaster grant opportunities and investigate the availability of potential resources. We will be contacting OCDE for assistance/direction in re-applying for the next available grant, and/or collaborating with a neighboring district, if feasible. We will also be contacting the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (OCIAC) to request a campus assessment of all our campuses for the 2011/2012 year, to address safety concerns.
F2
President Six (of 17) school districts have managed to apply for and receive relatively large grants Barbara Quintana from governmental agencies to greatly enhance their emergency planning efforts, while Clerk others have not. Barbara Clendineng Member The Magnolia 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 Esther Wallace Member to be identified. Nathan Zug
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
Member 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 Magnolia School District agrees with this finding. Our school district has developed information for the following emergency situations: Loss of Utilities, Bus Accident, Armed Student (possession of a firearm), Bomb Threat, Earthquake, Fire or Explosion, Flood or Heavy Rains, Gang Fight/Riot or Neighborhood Incident, Hazardous Materials Spill, Major Incident/Accident, Homicide or Attempted Homicide, Hostage Situation, Intruders on Campus, Kidnapping/Child Stealing/Lost Children, Severe Windstorm/Tornado, Shooting, Suicide, Death of Student or Staff Member. · .
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 Magnolia 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 management agencies. The school district has sufficient liability insurance with respect to 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 Magnolia School District agrees with this finding. School districts have developed school safety plans under 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 Magnolia School District has already implemented a plan for this issue. We require a 72- hour "Emergency Supply" of medication for students with chronic conditions. At the beginning of each school year, students with prescription medication needs, for chronic conditions, are required to provide a "Physician's Request for the Administration of Medication by School Personnel" form. Medication not used by the end of the school year is picked up by the parent, and a new supply of medication, with updated doctor's orders is provided at the beginning of the next school year. This process is monitored by School Nurses and Health Clerks.
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 Magnolia School District agrees that this issue should be addressed and the Magnolia School District is focusing on-how to meet-all students' needs during an emergency.
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. Magnolia School District intends to survey campuses with respect to the needs of non or -limited English speaking parents and guardians and will develop a summary of critical emergency planning information in the native languages identified to be required for the 2011/2012 school year. Sincerely, on Juis Mr. Kevin Smith Assistant Superintendent, Business & Support Services
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 Magnolia School District agrees the 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.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
Few schools have plans or emergency preparation information available in languages other than English. The Magnolia School District agrees with this finding. Magnolia 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.