Schools clear up confusion about dismissal during storm ‘shelter in place’

A notice sent out by the Police and Fire Departments in Palm Springs at 10:26 a.m. urged vistors and residents to “stay put” because of the hazards created by heaving flooding. But at 11:43 a.m. Palm Springs Unified notified parents to pick up their children as soon as possible.

Palm Spring Unified School District Spokesperson Joan Boiko issued a statement explaining the district’s decision to end school early, despite a warning from first responders an hour earlier to “shelter in place.”

“Due to the worsening weather conditions, our Emergency Operations Committee determined that the best course of action to ensure the best possible scenario for safety and access to our campuses was to ask parents to pick up their students as soon as they were able. We informed the city of Palm Springs Emergency Operations Committee of our decision to move in that direction. We felt that moving forward with trying to get our students home before conditions worsened was in the best interest of all concerned, and the potential benefits of doing so outweighed any potential risks of parents being on the road sooner rather than later. Flooding at some our schools was of concern, and access to classrooms was an issue on some of our campuses throughout the District. The forecast kept extending the flood watch/warning times, and conditions were expected to worsen before they improved. The safety of our students is always our number one priority.”

“Our M&O department responded to issues immediately with sand bags and water extraction,” said Boiko. “The main problem was with high levels of water near and around classroom entrances making access to the rooms difficult and, in some cases, impossible.”

Boiko could not elaborate on the specific campuses impacted.