There is still uncertainty over the future of Georgia Brown Elementary School in Paso Robles after a potential fault line was found beneath the campus.
Concerned parents packed into Tuesday night’s school board meeting to voice concerns about uncertainty while demanding more involvement in the decision-making process.
Georgia Brown Elementary will stay put for now after a structural engineer found no evidence of damage from seismic activity.
“They were looking through the buildings to see if there were any cracks or shifting,” explained Assistant Superintendent Brad Pawlowski, who confirmed that the visual inspection found no cause for immediate concern.
“The school’s been here and outlasted all the earthquakes so that’s not a concern for us,” added Georgia Brown Parent Cori Holzer.
The district still needs to bring someone in to dig down and find out exactly what the anomaly is, and some parents say that will be too expensive.
“I do know it will be very expensive to build on that property now. Just to dig the trench to see if there’s a fault line is gonna cost over $300,000 dollars that the district does not have,” said Holzer. “It seems like a waste of money to me.”
At Tuesday Night’s school board meeting, a group of parents demanded an immediate pause to new spending until all options are considered…
“Let us weigh the options on their merits and make tough but well-thought-out decisions together with our heads and our hearts,” said one parent who took to the podium. “No further digging, no further spending in regard to reconstruction.”
Parents also spoke out against a suggestion made by a school board member to relocate Georgia Brown students to Pifer Elementary School which would, in turn, move Pifer students to other schools.
“It would be pretty devastating to us,” said Pifer Parent Tracy Dauterman. “Our students are well established at our school. We have wonderful teachers. They have their friends there.”
Parents from both schools say they want to stop the idea from gaining traction.
“Our school is not up for grabs. Georgia Brown’s situation needs to be addressed,” said Sara Tilem, whose two sons go to Pifer Elementary School. “I think the entire community of Paso is uncertain. It’s not just Pifer. We know that Georgia Brown feels very uncomfortable and uncertain with what’s gonna happen to their school too. I think it’s important they know that we’re all on the same team.”
Parents at Georgia Brown are hoping to find a solution that will modernize their school.
“We’re just hoping for a solution-- find Georgia Brown a new home and secure the future,” said Holzer. “It’s a great program. Being dual immersion, I think that’s really important to have in the North County.”
After listening to public comments, the board voted to host a meeting dedicated solely to this issue on August 7 at 6 p.m.
Parents and other community members have until July 17 to submit written concerns.
