Officials announced late Sunday afternoon that nearly all Los Angeles Unified campuses and offices will reopen Monday after wind-fueled fires prompted districtwide closures.
The superintendent of Los Angeles Unified schools said the decision was made after taking into account school readiness, weather forecasts, current outdoor conditions and caution-encouraged fire protection levels. Alberto Carvalho.
Environmental conditions appear promising and schools are ready, Carvalho said.
"We have turned on all systems and have them running continuously to provide airflow to our schools," the superintendent said. "So the school should be clean. The air conditioning units should be working properly. We've done the necessary inspections, assessments and replacement of filters. We've also surveyed our staff to make sure we're prepared."
The vast majority of Los Angeles County's 80 school districts plan to open.
The Pasadena Unified School District and La Canada Unified School District will remain closed, as will schools in Malibu, which is part of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. In the Santa Monica portion of the district, only Roosevelt Elementary will be closed.
Pasadena Unified was particularly hard hit by the Eaton Canyon Fire that broke out last Tuesday night, severely damaging or destroying five campuses.
Outdoor and athletic activities at Los Angeles Unified schools will be limited on Monday, and masks will be provided to students and staff. The district said it will continue to monitor weather conditions overnight and issue updates.
These late registrations are based on the reality that fire and weather conditions can change quickly. The 5am announcement will be made before the bus leaves the station and begins its journey.
Carvalho interacted with district teams assessing and preparing campuses and was joined by school board members Nick Melvoin on the west side and Karla Griego on the east side of the school system near the Eaton Canyon Fire Come in.
During a visit to Eagle Rock Elementary School later in the morning, Carvalho said reports he had received said: "We are setting specific goals for all internal and external inspections of the school. ... The reports I have received indicate that the filter's The quality and cleanliness were better than we expected. ”
The community surrounding the school never received a mandatory evacuation order, but smoke from the Eaton Fire blanketed the area, which was also buffeted by high winds. A car with its roof damaged by a fallen tree remained parked next to the school Sunday morning.
Officials said crews replaced all air filters at the Eagle Rock campus and replaced filters at other campuses as needed.
Cleanup crews gathered leaves and branches into large piles from playgrounds, sidewalks and rooftops.
Administrator Scott Schnell clears leaves on Sunday. But at the height of the storm, he ran around campus fixing loose windows to prevent them from shattering.
PTA President Amber Martinez praised the condition of the school after the tour, but she expressed concern that the school would not be able to sustain maintenance due to limited staff.
The Palisades Fire caused more serious damage to several schools.
Marquez Charter Elementary, a campus with a view of the Pacific Ocean, was destroyed by the Pacific Palisades fire.
(Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times)
Carvalho said students at Palisades Elementary School and Marquez Charter Elementary School were destroyed and classes will not resume at nearby campuses until at least Wednesday.
Students attending Palisades Elementary will transfer to Brentwood Elementary Science Magnet in Brentwood, near Pacific Palisades.
Students who attended Marquez Elementary School will report to Noratree Elementary School in the Sawtell neighborhood south of Brentwood.
The plan is to keep the two relocated school communities intact, with the same teachers teaching the same students.
All four schools begin the spring semester on Jan. 6.
Other Los Angeles schools closing Monday are in mandatory evacuation zones in Pacific Palisades or the Santa Monica Mountains: Kent Canyon Charter Elementary, Canyon Charter Elementary, Paul Revere Charter Middle School, Topanga Charter Elementary and Lanai Road Elementary.
Palisades High School, a Los Angeles Unified School District school run by an independent charter school, was hit hard, with about 40 percent of the building damaged or destroyed, Principal Pamela Magee said at the school wrote a post on the community.
Pali High, an independent charter school, will not open for the spring semester on Jan. 13 as originally planned.
District officials estimated that about 340 workers were living in mandatory evacuation zones as of Sunday evening. The district will provide five days of paid leave to these employees, as well as other employees on a case-by-case basis.
Officials said they expect substitute teachers to be used more than usual Monday.
The next step will be to review the number of students affected by the evacuation and fire damage again based on the addresses on file, the deputy said. Pedro Salcido.
The district is working to create an informal network where people in the Los Angeles Unified community can temporarily share their homes with displaced workers and families.