Last weekend’s tornadoes have damaged at least 27 Missouri K-12 public school districts and charter schools.
State Education Commissioner Karla Eslinger told Missourinet Gov. Mike Kehoe, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and state lawmakers in the impacted areas are supporting schools damaged by the weekend of twisters.
“We started having conversations with these school leaders early Saturday morning…Sunday,” said Eslinger.
DESE has about 12 area supervisors throughout Missouri. The supervisors have been working with their schools impacted to answer questions and be the liaisons between state and local leaders who are also trying to help.
Eslinger said the first priority is to make sure the school buildings are safe for the children and staff to be in. The second priority is to ensure students can safely return to school as soon as possible.
“Having regular schedules, being back with their friends, some of those things are very critical for those kids to kind of overcome a pretty traumatic thing for them,” Eslinger told Missourinet.
The damage varies from district to district. Southeast Missouri was especially hit hard by tornadoes.
“I believe Rolla, and Perryville, and Poplar Bluff, those are the three I would say that have, as far as I’m aware, substantial damage to structure – roofs are off, buildings are gone, things like that. The rest of it, it’s like a roof is gone, or there’s no power, or an awning to where they couldn’t get the kids in and out, just things like that,” she said.
Eslinger said she’s proud to see the community support for tornado victims.
“They don’t have power. They don’t have a place to take a bath,” she said. “So if they’ve got a building in that community where they were able to help sustain some of those just basic needs, I was so impressed of just how much they’re opening up those buildings and being of support and service to their communities if they have that opportunity. So I’m seeing that across many, many districts right now.”
Missouri is helping districts to identify alternative education sites and find school transportation options.
“While I am disheartened to see the damage that a number of Missouri schools faced from Friday night’s storm, I am incredibly grateful that these storms did not hit while school was in session,” said Gov. Mike Kehoe. “Now that the storms have passed and we are turning our attention to recovery, we must prioritize ensuring our children can safely return to school to continue their education and prevent any academic delays.”
The state is also working to ensure funding is not reduced for districts and schools who cannot hold classes as a result of damage to buildings.
“Obviously we don’t want this tragedy to be something that they have to have other unintended consequences to have to bear,” said Eslinger. “So yes, we’re doing everything we can to help them with that.”
The following districts and charters schools with tornado damage are:
1. Alton R-IV
2. Bakersfield
3. Bayless
4. Clearwater
5. Dunklin R-V
6. Fox C-6
7. Glenwood R-VIII
8. Hazelwood
9. Hillsboro R-III
10. Howell Valley R-I
11. Junction Hill C-12
12. Kennett
13. Kipp St. Louis
14. Lindbergh
15. Meramec Valley R-III
16. Oak Hill R-I
17. Oregon-Howell R-III
18. Perryville
19. Poplar Bluff
20. Puxico
21. Rockwood
22. Rolla
23. South Iron R-I
24. St. Clair R-XIII
25. St. Louis Special School District
26. Wentzville
27. West Plains
School districts are encouraged to contact their DESE Area Supervisor of Instruction to report needs or request help.
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