LAUSD, other districts reopening most schools on Monday as wildfires still burn
Los Angeles Unified and other local school districts are set to return to class on Monday, days after dozens of campuses were closed due to the effects from a series of devastating wildfires that broke out last week.
"Conditions have improved for a majority of areas across the Los Angeles region and the District is confident it is safe for students and employees to return to campuses," said a statement from the Los Angeles Unified School District on Sunday evening.
While most campuses will be reopened, those still located in severely impacted areas and places under mandatory evacuation will remain closed. Those schools include:
- Canyon Charter Elementary School,
- Kenter Canyon Charter Elementary School,
- Palisades Charter Elementary School,
- Marquez Charter Elementary School,
- Topanga Charter Elementary School,
- Lanai Road Elementary School,
- Paul Revere Middle School.
"We are also closely monitoring Roscomare Road Elementary and Community Magnet Charter, which are currently in an evacuation warning zone," LAUSD's statement said.
Last week, LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho confirmed that both Marquez Charter Elementary and Palisades Charter Elementary were both destroyed by the Palisades Fire. Palisades Charter High School had about 30% of its campus damaged, Carvalho noted.
During a press conference Sunday, Carvalho said that air quality inspections and HVAC filter replacement for more than 1,000 LAUSD schools would be completed by the end of Sunday evening.
District officials noted that any changes in these plans would be released at either 10 p.m. Sunday or 5:30 a.m. Monday.
Masks will be available to both students and employees at all open schools, which will still be limited from conducting outdoor activities due to the poor air quality caused by the smoke from the fires.
Just prior to LAUSD's announcement, Beverly Hills Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy announced that all of their campuses would also reopen on Monday.
"After careful consideration, I want to share the decision that BHUSD will fully reopen tomorrow, Monday, January 13th," said a statement from BHUSD. "All classes, extracurriculars, before- and after-school activities, sports, and regular school operations will resume as scheduled."
