Structural testing underway at James Monroe Elementary School

Desert Sands Unified School District sent out a message to families with children at James Monroe Elementary School explaining structural testing of the campus is underway.

This comes following the district’s closure of Madison Elementary last week due to structural damage found on campus. The notice to parents and families explained further that the design of Monroe Elementary is very similar to the structural design of Madison Elementary.

Madison was closed for a week after an engineer found structural corrosion to some of the columns on campus, possibly due to frequent power washing. A letter from the engineer explained this could pose a danger in the event of an earthquake or extreme winds. As a result, students were relocated to John Adams Early Childhood Learning Center.

According to a district representative, the message below was sent to the families of James Monroe Elementary School as well as all district staff:

“The safety of the students and staff is of primary importance to the Desert Sands Unified School District. As you may be aware, we recently discovered structural concerns during the modernization project at Madison Elementary School. This information prompted the district to relocate Madison students and staff to John Adams Early Childhood Learning Center. Monroe Elementary appears to be of similar design to that of Madison Elementary School. Out of an abundance of caution, we are in the process of thoroughly testing at Monroe. Should it be necessary, the district is prepared to act swiftly at Monroe Elementary, as it did at Madison Elementary. Information regarding the results of structural testing at Monroe will be shared as available.”

KESQ