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West Salem earns Storm Ready recognition; shelter analysis shows room for district population
Summary
The National Weather Service recognized West Salem School District as a Storm Ready supporter after a shelter analysis and drills showed the district has designated shelter space for its population and multiple preparedness measures in place.
The West Salem School Board heard a Storm Ready presentation March 9 as National Weather Service officials formally recognized the district’s preparedness work.
Mike Kurz, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in La Crosse, said the Storm Ready designation recognizes institutions that go “above and beyond” in severe weather preparedness and preparedness planning, including multiple ways to receive and relay warnings, a hazardous weather response plan, designated sheltering locations, and regular preparedness activities. "It's to recognize institutions and communities who are committed to going above and beyond what they can do to ensure they're weather ready and prepared to deal with these threats when they manifest themselves," Kurz said.
Consultant Mark McGinnis of Fair Skies, who worked with the district team, said the district’s shelter-analysis exercise mapped safe locations across its buildings. McGinnis said the high school and middle school have room to shelter the full population and that the elementary-school shelter plan was redesigned because placing students in long hallways is not best practice; the revised layout accommodates approximately 831 people and a recent drill demonstrated usable capacity. "By doing the drill, we found that we're in a better place," he said.
District presenter Scott (introduced at the meeting) said the district will add after-hours drill guidance for coaches and continue targeted drills. Board members asked questions about why the district pursued Storm Ready; Scott said the analysis and planning were intended to improve decision-making and shelter assignments, pointing to the elementary-school hallways as a prior vulnerability.
The NWS emphasized that drills should reflect real conditions: McGinnis noted that many tornadoes occur later in the afternoon, and districts should practice after-hours scenarios when students and teams are offsite. The district plans additional drills with coaches and a debrief to adjust procedures based on lessons learned.
The presentation concluded with the board thanking the presenters and noting next steps to integrate the shelter plan into athletics and after-hours protocols.
