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Superintendent details wildfire evacuation plans, staffing and facility needs for Blue Ridge schools
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Wright told the Blue Ridge Unified School District board on Jan. 14 that the district is increasing wildfire preparedness and practicing evacuation drills to move students safely to the elementary campus if needed.
Superintendent Dr. Wright told the Blue Ridge Unified School District governing board on Jan. 14 that wildfire risk is high this winter and described the district’s preparations, including evacuation drills, campus hardening and coordination with local first responders.
"Foremost, we want to ensure the safety of our students and staff. Job 1, it's not convenience, it's not making sure everybody's happy, it's getting everybody there safe," Dr. Wright said. He outlined recent and planned steps: a successful drill that moved students by bus to the elementary campus, Firewise fuel-thinning work around the elementary building, and plans to time and rehearse bus evacuations for the junior high before the school year ends.
Dr. Wright said the elementary school offers the most protected facility on campus — block construction and a fire-retardant roof — and that, with proper road access, buses could relocate students there "in about 45 minutes." He said law enforcement cooperation will be needed so parents do not block routes during an evacuation.
The superintendent noted additional operational challenges: students with significant special needs may require multiple staffers to move them safely, reunification with families could be time-consuming and the district needs to plan medication and care during any sheltering period. He said staff will conduct staged drills — junior high before spring, the high school in early fall — and that staff will identify the supports each exceptional-needs student requires in advance.
Dr. Wright also described broader emergency preparedness: the district has practiced lockdowns and other critical-incident responses, has purchased radios to improve communications when cellular service is unreliable, and will host a staff training on April 4 by Jesus Villarimosa, described in the meeting as a school-safety expert.
On staffing and safety resources, Dr. Wright said the district has secured a grant enabling the pursuit of an SRO (school resource officer) position and will supplement with off-duty trained officers to provide presence at elementary and junior-high campuses until a full-time SRO can be placed. "We'll have resources to help out with that, with that SRO grants that we have," he said.
Dr. Wright also reviewed non-emergency operational matters raised in the superintendent's report: boilers and heating systems in some buildings are old and replacement work has been slow, with some rooms reported as cold as 47 degrees on very cold days; the district has an "instructional time model" that allows remote learning if facilities are unusable; and student enrollment, which the superintendent said measured about 1,635 for daily average membership in recent reporting, has stabilized with a modest net gain compared with past Decembers.
Board members asked practical questions about parent pick-up during pre-evacuation versus active evacuation scenarios; the superintendent said parents may be able to collect children if the event allows a controlled early release, but urged parents specifically not to drive to campus during active evacuations because vehicles can block first-responder access.
Dr. Wright closed by thanking staff across departments — transportation, maintenance and technology — for preparedness efforts and invited the board to attend the April 4 staff training.
