Faced with a number of ongoing dilemmas, the Parsons USD 503 Board of Education is weighing what to do in regards to the opening of its storm shelters to the public when school is not in session.
Community members became angry during the most recent tornado warnings that some storm shelters built at the schools were not being opened to the general public, claiming FEMA money paid for them so the district must open them.
The district is awaiting paperwork from FEMA to substantiate that FEMA funds were only used to build one shelter, and it is the only one designated to be open to the public. The Parsons Sun reported on Nov. 23, 2002 that: “After the April 2000 tornado, the school board was told by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that grant funds could be available to build storm-safe rooms at district schools. However, because of a lack of government funds, the district eventually was forced by FEMA to designate one school over the other. Guthridge was chosen because of its southwest location in the district, giving it potentially greater exposure to severe weather.”
Because of the lack of FEMA funding, construction of the safe rooms at the other two elementary schools were included in the 2005 bond issue passed by voters, according to the Sun, in order to have a safe place for students to go during the school day. All the safe rooms are FEMA approved as storm shelters. However, unlike Guthridge, the safe room at Garfield is the school library and at Lincoln it is two kindergarten classrooms.
While not mandated to open the rooms at Garfield and Lincoln to the public, board president Jeff Quirin said in a prior meeting he remembers the board voting to approve opening the safe rooms to the public after hours in the event of tornado warnings. The board discussed at that time the need for community support through trusted volunteers coming forward to open the rooms as the district could not pay employees to manage them after hours for a non-school related event, or take on the liability.
The district has not been able to open the Lincoln shelter for a couple of years for lack of trusted volunteers. The district has tried using its personnel to manage openings of the other two when possible, but faces liability issues.
Considering there are no trusted community volunteers willing to open the shelters, the district will have to vote again on the future operation of these facilities.
Lack of trusted volunteers
Superintendent Lori Perkins said people complain on social media about the shelters not being open, but when the district reaches out on social media, or through the newspaper, no trusted neighbors have volunteered to be the one to open schools near them.
In years past, there have been trusted neighbors willing to step up and volunteer to open the storm shelters at each of the schools. However, in more recent years, those long-time trusted persons have moved away or are no longer physically able.
No new trusted persons have stepped up to volunteer.
If a designated public or FEMA-funded shelter cannot open due to lack of volunteer staff, the district must rely on other alternatives. Most cities or counties operate the storm shelters in their communities, or the shelters are opened by American Red Cross volunteers. The school district reached out to the city requesting help from their employees, but was told that wasn’t possible. The city itself no longer provides a storm shelter either, explaining the city building basement is not designated as a safe place in the event of a tornado.
No Red Cross volunteers have come forward from the community, or anybody else whom the district felt could be trusted with the keys to the schools.
With no one willing to volunteer to open the shelters, it has put the school district in a difficult situation of having to rely on district personnel to respond, which is a liability for the school district as it requires personnel to drive across town, or farther, during a tornado warning to open a building.
Failure to comply with rules
While weighing its decisions, the district is also considering the unwillingness of some in the community to comply with the rules of the shelters when they are open.
The district has made clear it doesn’t allow animals in the storm shelters, unless it is a registered support animal, out of consideration for everyone who needs to use the shelter. Regardless, people try to override the system, Perkins said.
Just a few weeks ago when there was a tornado warning, one lady showed up at Guthridge with a baby in her arms and a dog in her shirt. Another arrived with a cat in a carrier, and another lady and her children arrived carrying a family of racoons wrapped in towels. At Garfield, someone who arrived with their dog let it run the halls and let it defecate and didn’t even bother to clean it up. These situations put the volunteers in the precarious position of angering others by allowing these people in with their animals, in violation of district policy, or turning them away to return home or go elsewhere, placing them in potential danger. It is not a position any volunteer opening a shelter wants to be in.
Then, there are the people who want to come to the tornado room for safety, but rather than staying in the designated storm shelter area opened to them, they go out and stand in the school lobby and watch the storm, or they want to wander around the halls, going in classrooms where they are not supposed to be.
When told to return to the designated storm shelter area by volunteers, people ignore them and do as they please, even if it is a district administrator telling them to follow the rules. This creates more liabilities.
People are also often cranky, due to fear or discomfort such as room temperature, and other variables, and that is often taken out on volunteers. Rather than area residents having a go-bag ready during storm season knowing they may have to seek shelter at a storm shelter, people arrive without basic needs, and then become angry with whomever opened the shelter for not supplying them with those needs. Volunteers have been verbally accosted for not supplying the public with their preferred beverages, food, diapers and wipes and other items, despite it not being the school district’s responsibility to purchase and somehow store all the emergency supplies community members may need.
Conclusion
FEMA states that FEMA-funded community shelters are designed for public access, but there is no universal mandate that they remain open at all times, particularly if no staff is available to operate them. Public storm shelters, even if funded by FEMA, are often staffed by volunteers, and the shelters may not be available if personnel cannot open and manage them.
FEMA states local communities are responsible for developing emergency plans, including staffing and opening procedures for shelters. If the community will not work together with the school district to open the shelters, and people will not abide by the rules, the shelters will have to remain closed to the public.
“While I would like to offer the community the benefit of the storm shelter, the liability due to a few patrons' behavior while in the storm shelter and having staff drive across town to open it, it’s just too much.” Perkins said.
The board is expected to make a decision in June.
Knowing there is a lack of volunteers and administrators are not always in town or available to open a shelter, community members are encouraged to follow FEMA’s advice and develop a plan for sheltering in place or going to a neighbor's basement or shelter in the event of a tornado warning.