The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District provided an update on the anomaly found at Georgia Brown Elementary School in May.
During a state-required process of reconstructing the Georgia Brown Elementary school at the 36th Street campus, a geological soil investigation was required due to the possibility that a fault line exists. District officials confirmed that in the results of that study, a seismic “anomaly” was found under the campus.
Since that discovery, a structural engineer went to the campus and examined all existing buildings and determined there is no reason to consider any danger as there is no evidence of any seismic activity currently impacting buildings there.
With this discovery, the engineer also recommended that there is no need for students or staff to immediately move to a temporary campus.
Now, the school district is seeking bids to identify the cost of the state-required trenching on the site to expose the “anomalous feature” identified electronically.
A majority of the Board of Trustees (4 of 7 members) would be required to approve this first step. The trench would measure 30’ deep, 3’ wide, and 150’ long.
District officials say they have received one bid for $293,000, but that work, if approved, cannot start until August or September and may take over a month to complete.
District officials have also asked the local State Senator Laird to advise them on options that might be sought with the Department of the State Architect (DSA).
District officials say their meeting this Tuesday will likely include formal board action and direction to schedule a Special Board Meeting asking for public input and professional advice on their decision.
According to the district, the meeting for public input would likely happen in August once they have the most up-to-date reports available.
Community members can view and submit questions on the district homepage at www.pasoschools.org, or the Georgia Brown Elementary homepage at https://gb.pasoschools.org.
