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The rapid change and growth in Rifle spurred administration from the Garfield School District Re-2 to request a safety audit of the district in February.
The audit covered conditions of existing facility and infrastructure issues, districtwide emergency plans and a better integration of external resources like police and fire department in emergency situations. The district is still awaiting a community assessment from the Public Relations division of the U.S. Department of Justice to address violence in the community and determine if it is an issue.
The school district administration received a draft of the audit report from the Home Safety Council last week addressing safety issues throughout the district, but, according to Superintendent Gary Pack, the news wasn't anything unexpected.
"They (administrators) knew very well what to expect in the draft," Pack said. "It's what we anticipated."
The main issue discussed in the report is the need for a comprehensive emergency/crisis management system developed to specifically address potential incidents that pose a threat to the facilities, staff or students, the report read.
The primary concern in the report was the close proximity of some of the schools, such as Coal Ridge, to Interstate 70 and the train tracks. Some schools in Rifle are in the "flood path" of the Rifle Reservoir and other streams, while others are at risk of natural gas or crude oil related emergencies due to the extensive exploration and production in the area.
Pack indicated that currently there is no districtwide emergency plan in place, but that each of the individual schools have one. Recommendations of the report specify that a uniform emergency management plan be completed for every school in the district. Pack said that the district has been restructuring the separate school plans into a more "uniform" plan for several years but just haven't gotten one specifically for the entire district.
Several recommendations for schools facilities and building upgrades will be addressed during the current wave of construction projects and upgrades districtwide.
Pack said that some schools need more work than others and some only need minor upgrades but that "now is the time to do it so they will be done."
The report also stressed the importance that everyone from school administrators and teachers to students and parents have a role to play when it comes to emergency preparedness.
"This is something that we need to focus on in the next couple of years with the growth in the district and the increase in transportation throughout the area," Pack said.
Pack expects the final draft of the report, complete with a more detailed outline of recommendations to address the issues, sometime in mid-May. That plan will outline issues in order of importance to be addressed over a three-year period by each of the eight schools in the district, Pack said.
Re-2 requested the assessment, that began in February, of their emergency and crisis management capabilities to determine areas for improvement. The audit consisted of an on-site review of all facilities and interviews with school administration and faculty.
Contact John Gardner: 384-9114
jgardner@postindependent.com
Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, Colorado CO
The audit covered conditions of existing facility and infrastructure issues, districtwide emergency plans and a better integration of external resources like police and fire department in emergency situations. The district is still awaiting a community assessment from the Public Relations division of the U.S. Department of Justice to address violence in the community and determine if it is an issue.
The school district administration received a draft of the audit report from the Home Safety Council last week addressing safety issues throughout the district, but, according to Superintendent Gary Pack, the news wasn't anything unexpected.
"They (administrators) knew very well what to expect in the draft," Pack said. "It's what we anticipated."
The main issue discussed in the report is the need for a comprehensive emergency/crisis management system developed to specifically address potential incidents that pose a threat to the facilities, staff or students, the report read.
The primary concern in the report was the close proximity of some of the schools, such as Coal Ridge, to Interstate 70 and the train tracks. Some schools in Rifle are in the "flood path" of the Rifle Reservoir and other streams, while others are at risk of natural gas or crude oil related emergencies due to the extensive exploration and production in the area.
Pack indicated that currently there is no districtwide emergency plan in place, but that each of the individual schools have one. Recommendations of the report specify that a uniform emergency management plan be completed for every school in the district. Pack said that the district has been restructuring the separate school plans into a more "uniform" plan for several years but just haven't gotten one specifically for the entire district.
Several recommendations for schools facilities and building upgrades will be addressed during the current wave of construction projects and upgrades districtwide.
Pack said that some schools need more work than others and some only need minor upgrades but that "now is the time to do it so they will be done."
The report also stressed the importance that everyone from school administrators and teachers to students and parents have a role to play when it comes to emergency preparedness.
"This is something that we need to focus on in the next couple of years with the growth in the district and the increase in transportation throughout the area," Pack said.
Pack expects the final draft of the report, complete with a more detailed outline of recommendations to address the issues, sometime in mid-May. That plan will outline issues in order of importance to be addressed over a three-year period by each of the eight schools in the district, Pack said.
Re-2 requested the assessment, that began in February, of their emergency and crisis management capabilities to determine areas for improvement. The audit consisted of an on-site review of all facilities and interviews with school administration and faculty.
Contact John Gardner: 384-9114
jgardner@postindependent.com
Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, Colorado CO
