BEND, OR -- Schools in Central Oregon’s two largest districts remain closed Tuesday for snow removal and facility assessments. Hundreds of employees and contractors worked through the holiday weekend to clear snow from rooftops at Redmond and Bend-La Pine schools, but not all are finished. Efforts began after the gym roof collapsed at Highland Magnet School on Newport Ave. in Bend.
In Redmond, Superintendent Mike McIntosh tells KBND News roofs still need to be cleared at Redmond High (above) and Tumalo and Terrebonne Community Schools. "We’ve been working feverishly and have not gotten to all of our school sites. And so, we believe we can get that finished up [Tuesday] and our engineers are back on site to give us one final evaluation before we get back to work. Hopefully school resumes on Wednesday." He says engineers have, so far, not found any structural damage. As snow was removed, sagging roofs have returned to normal positions. Read the full statement issued by McIntosh Monday evening: HERE.
Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Shay Mikalson released a statement Monday evening, saying he hopes to begin "rolling openings," Wednesday. Some schools are expected to open Wednesday, followed by more schools each day this week. Bend-La Pine Schools updates can be found HERE.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Bend will open its downtown location (500 NW Wall St) for all-day programming, Tuesday. Due to limited space, they say they'll welcome 250 K-12 grade kids on a first come, first serve basis. REACH in Redmond will open its main location to the first 80 students.
