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Coos Bay School District begins after-action review after tsunami alert, eyes safety staff and clearer reunification plans
Summary
Following a regional tsunami alert that prompted evacuations at two schools, Superintendent Justin told the board the district will refine communications, rehearse reunification staging, and consider hiring a dedicated safety coordinator as a budget priority.
Superintendent Justin told the Coos Bay School District 9 board that a recent tsunami alert for nearby Eureka prompted evacuations at Madison and Sunset and revealed gaps in communication and reunification procedures. "Based on the information we had at that point, we had decided to evacuate Madison and Sunset," Justin said, describing how administrators coordinated, set staging areas and managed parent reunification as staff worked to return students safely to buses or pick-up points.
Why it matters: The event exposed contingency weaknesses that can complicate emergency response. The superintendent said the district identified both strengths — staff, principals and students who stepped up — and operational gaps that need attention: clearer site-specific staging areas, improved ParentSquare adoption, additional emergency supplies, and clarified staff roles.
What the district will do: Justin outlined a short list of action items already underway: debriefs with principals and assistant principals, student feedback collection, creation of a single-sheet responsibilities map for each site, and updates to the district emergency operations plan. He also urged greater coordination with local emergency partners and suggested routing future staging to locations that can handle larger volumes of people and vehicles.
On communications, the superintendent said inconsistent ParentSquare uptake hindered reach: "Some of our parents, I think it was a small population, about 10%, they didn't download ParentSquare. Hence, they didn't know what was going on." He asked the board to prioritize parent outreach and clearer, earlier mass-notification messaging for officials and families.
Budget and staffing implications: Justin told the board he plans to recommend budgeting for a dedicated district safety coordinator, arguing the role should focus primarily on prevention and interagency coordination: "I really think we need a safety person in the district. It's too important. Right now, we don't have a dedicated safety person." He said such a position would interface with fire, police and state emergency planning and should not be another hat for existing staff.
Next steps: The board directed staff to complete after-action reports ("glows and grows"), share findings in a board post and return proposed emergency-plan changes and any budget impacts for future action. Justin said staff will bring refined reunification maps and recommendations to the board in an upcoming meeting.
