Salem, Ore. – Hundreds of thousands of children across Oregon could be at risk should their school collapse the next time a large earthquake hits.
The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries released a list of every Oregon school and its seismic risk, revealing the shocking statistic that children in 275 schools with a ‘very high’ seismic risk rating and 745 schools with a ‘high’ seismic risk rating are in danger today.
Senate Republicans sent a letter to Senate President Peter Courtney last month asking the legislature to prioritize bonding for critical seismic upgrades to Oregon schools before considering authorization of nearly $200 million to remodel the Oregon Capitol in 2015-17 and another $150 million in the 2017-19 biennium.
“No priority, including upgrading the Capitol, is higher than keeping our children safe,” said Senate Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day). “The current proposal for seismic bonding for schools will only make 133 of over one thousand at-risk schools safe for our kids. We should defer remodeling the Capitol building until we know every Oregon student is safe in their school.”
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