July 23, 2019
Dear Parents, Students, and Staff:
I write to provide you with an update on the District's recovery efforts at Richmond Elementary School following the earthquakes. A thorough and careful analysis of Richmond has led us to conclude that all District operations at Richmond during the 2019-20 school year must be relocated to the District's facility at Vieweg located at 348 Rowe Street.
As we hope you understand, the safety of students, staff, and the community remain among our highest priorities. Additionally, the emotional well being and sense of confidence of our students, families, and staff weigh heavily on the decision to channel our efforts on the Vieweg campus.
We have carefully reviewed all required repairs at Richmond and closely analyzed all options related to those repairs. In addition, we have reviewed all sources of funding and other resources and determined that, although that funding and those resources will substantially assist with structural repairs, funding is not available to repair significant cosmetic damage to the site. In fact, we have determined that it will be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to eliminate all cosmetic damage from the earthquakes. We also expect that remaining cosmetic issues would substantially affect any visitor's sense of safety while visiting Richmond. Regrettably, all of our estimates reveal that the required repairs and other logistical issues will substantially increase the cost to return Richmond to a safe, comfortable learning and working environment for our students, staff, and community.
As you may know, for the past several years, the District has analyzed and recently gained approval for Department of Defense funding to replace Richmond with new construction. To that end, the District is committed to demolishing Richmond as a condition for the construction of new facilities. We are actually in the first stage of the new construction project with recent Board-approval for the professional services of a company to conduct environmental impact studies on three potential new-build sites. After carefully reviewing all necessary repairs for the existing Richmond site and conferring with personnel regarding those repairs, we have determined that, rather than expending millions of dollars and significant District resources to repair Richmond only to demolish those facilities in the near future, the needs of our students, staff, and community are best served by relocating all Richmond programs and activities to Vieweg.
In the past, we have used Vieweg to host several District programs. Most recently, Vieweg served all Las Flores Elementary students while the District modernized that site. Although Vieweg sustained damage through the earthquakes and will require some repair, we are placing all available resources to complete necessary repairs prior to the first day of school on August 13, 2019. We also believe that dedicating resources to repairing Vieweg, which will continue to host various District programs and activities for years to come, remains in the best interest of our students, staff, and the community.
We realize that changes of this nature are disruptive to families and, throughout our recovery efforts, we have attempted to limit disruptions to the greatest extent possible. We deeply regret the need to relocate all of our Richmond operations to Vieweg, but are committed to doing so in the least disruptive manner possible. In a future communication, we will provide additional details about how we will make the transition from Richmond to Vieweg. Of course, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call me at (760) 499-1600.
As I noted in my prior correspondence, we understand that many in our community continue to suffer significant impacts from the earthquakes. As always, we are committed to supporting the emotional needs of our students and have made arrangements to make counseling services available during the summer months, as necessary. Please feel free to contact the Student Support Services office at (760) 499-1700 to arrange counseling services for any student.
Further, staff are reminded of the District-provided Employee Assistance Program ("EAP") that may be accessed at (800) 999-7222. All staff are encouraged to contact EAP for assistance, as needed.
In closing, we will continue to be vigilant in ensuring the safety of District facilities prior to the start of the 2019-20 school year. In addition, we will continue to keep you informed as our recovery efforts continue. We deeply appreciate the support we have received from the community and the many public agencies that have provided assistance to the District. If you have been affected by the earthquakes, we wish you the best in your recovery and would be happy to provide the above-noted support if that would be helpful to you.
Sincerely,
Dave Ostash, Ed.D.