District cites wildfire smoke and ongoing fire risk as reason for short-term school closures

District officials described to the board on Sept. 10 how ongoing fires and changing conditions drove a decision to pause in-person instruction for the remainder of the week while staff continue to monitor air quality and coordinate with city and county emergency managers.

An administrator reported twice-daily meetings with county emergency staff and local partners and said the district was checking capacity and logistics for staff who were evacuating from mountain homes. The presentation included a checklist of steps taken: reviewing emergency operation plans, checking the number of students with asthma, and ensuring communication with city emergency managers and law enforcement.

"Closing schools is a very very difficult decision and we take that very seriously," the board president said as the meeting discussed the tradeoffs between instruction time and student and staff safety. The board announced that schools would be closed for the rest of the week and would re-evaluate over the coming weekend based on updated data.

Board members praised the district’s communication and the work of maintenance and operations staff, who continued to support emergency logistics and building readiness. The board also adjourned the meeting in memory of two long-serving district employees, Nancy Greening and Ken Miller.