News-Record.com

This is nothing like Katrina. The fact you would even attempt to draw a parallel between the two is nonsensical.

Yeah, it's pretty absurd. I went overboard. I meant it in terms of displacing people and throwing lives into chaos. But you're right. Bad analogy.

Bad analogy in scope and loss of life and then some. There is an analogy: is there such an emergency plan for GCS for the sudden closure of a school? That's the important question.

It wasn't that bad an analogy. You were talking about a large population being displaced. Now you have students with no place to go and alot of quick decisions to make on how to absorb them into other communities. Sounds apt.

This will likely become the current school administration's best or worst moment. If they rise to the occasion it will build support for funding and programs. If it's handled badly it will have the opposite impact. Hope they are up to it.

Allen,

Where there is smoke there is fire. Just check out Grier's prior stops at Darlington, Amarillo and Mc Dowell County. Fires erupted when the pressure got too "hot". Coincidence? I think NOT.

Grier has been haunted by falling test scores, recente shooting incidents, construction issues, and failing scores at Eastern. Did he fear this was the cornerstone in his house of cards deteriorating?

He is a bad man that bad things follow!

Check out his past at these places. The similarities before the fires are scarey!

I thought Halloween was behind us!

I think every HS in Guilford County should offer to open up its doors for these kids.
On the other hand some ideas I have is to open up the new Northern to them. Its almost ready right?
I also think that it might be logical that they be split up between the nearest schools. There are an awful amount of Eastern kids really close to Page for instance. I hope Alan Duncan will offer his school for them. I hope he will step up.

Smokey's post about fires in Grier's past is disgusting. Maybe we should check to see if Grier paid Jerry Bledsoe to write the David Wray series...takes the focus off the superintendent, ya know.

I would like to hear details of these fires in Grier's past. Is this true????

There is no way that Duncan will offer help from Page.

Why doesn't the school administration have contingency plans for such an event? It is not unheard of for a school to experience a fire, including a total loss as this appears to be. Every responsible organization has an emergency/contingency plan that has planned action steps in events such as this. Those emergency/contingency plans are developed for every possible disaster, including fires. Why hasn't the school administration deeveloped such a plan?

This is not the time to point fingers. Its time to come together as a community and help.

There are many spare trailers in front of Florence Elementary and I hear that Andrews High is practically empty. Come on over Eastern students, High Point welcomes you.

Outtheycome,

Not time to point fingers? Is asking a question why this administration hasn't done any basic emergency/contingency planning that any responsible organization would do is finger pointing? These people do absolutely no advance planning. They never look ahead. Are we to assume that this district is exempt from all natural disasters? If some advance planning were done, then they wouldn't be running around like headless chickens. The community will help, but they should also ask the hard questions of these people as to why they never think or plan. It's a good thing that they are in public service, they wold be bankrupt if there were in the private sector. The students and staff of Eastern and other county schools derserve better than they are getting from these people.

Outtheycome,

Reference Allen's original post on this subject. He is asking questions that the school administrations should have asked and answered long ago with an emergency/contingency plan. I'm sorry that you see this as the evil ones emerging to bash the administration, but the truth is that Allen shouldn;t have had to ask those questions...they should have already been answered. Now, when would be the right time for finger pointing?

Stormy, I normally share your dim view of the GCS administration and school board, but I think we can cut them a little slack here.

The horrible fire at Eastern Guilford was unprecedented, as far as I know - who ever heard of an entire high school burning down? Also, it's been less than 24 hours. I'm not going to jump all over the administration just yet if they don't have every "i" dotted and every "t" crossed. Who could've seen this coming?

However, if they mismanage this catastrophe during the days and weeks to come, then, yes, criticism is deserved. But I think it's too early for that yet.

Just Saying:
I agree. This is an extraordinary circumstance.

I just got back from the Greensboro Sportscomplex, where the students from Eastern have been invited to hang out today. The teachers and parents seem to be in shock, but copeing by being together-- there are alot of food and drinks being donated and the PTSA president is there making plans for tomorrow. Just thought everyone might like to know.

The Boe is great at drawing maps. I have full confidence that they can make a map that will allow for the Eastern kids to continue their education pretty close to home.

For one: All the kids that should have been at Page in the first place, can now go.

Two: All those that should have been at Dudley, can now go there.

Three: All remaining student's can stay as we know that trailers are mobile. Hopefully Grier had the fire insurance policy paid in full and construction can begin to repair Eastern. What a perfect time to hire a bunch of minority construction workers....

...funny how things always work out.

Thankfully no one was seriously injured. It's another good day in Guilford county.

Thanks for the report Debora. It's good the kids can have some down time to let this all soak in.

The School Board must install sprinklers systems in ALL schools immediately.

We cannot afford to have this tragedy happen again.

They should immediately go to continuing their classes on line, hopefully they can get some quick private sector support to help to set up the sites. For the kids that don't have computers at home, maybe GTcc and greesboro college can house them or they can get help getting a computer at home

I have a computer I could donate to any student that needs one.

Sad to see that some of us can find humor in a local tragedy. I can't.

Allen, I'm totally serious. I have a computer just sitting here and I would give it to any student that needed one. Funny that you think offers of kindness are sarcasm...oh I know, becasue I didn't use my real name. Sorry. Can't and won't.

But the offer on the computer still stands. Just tell me when and where.

I apologize if you're serious. The Dell signature threw me off. So what if I know a kid who needs that computer? How do we contact you?

I think the N&R should set up a donation site for the students at Eastern.

I would venture to guess that my computer would not be the only one donated.

I would guess you'd be right. We are providing information in tomorrow's paper to help connect people who want to help to those who need that help. Thanks for pitching in.

That's great. I look forward to helping out.

Another alternative could be night or weekend classes at one of the other middle or senior highschools or even summer school (only for underclassmen probably).

Allen,

Does the News-Record have an emergency management or disaster recovery plan in the event of a natural disaster? Are you aware of it and how it would work?

The fire at Eastern may seem to be an extraordinary event, but natural disaters such as this happen to organizations with some regularity. The problem that arises when the organizaton hasn't done a risk assessment and planned its response to such a disaster. Records may be lost and interruption of your business may be lengthy (in this case, education). I understand that there is some concern for Eastern students' school records. GCS may have done so, but I haven't seen the signs that they have an effective plan. Granted, it's early, but having a well-thought-out disaster recovery plan makes the process much smoother, and more importantly it provides a calming influence on the affected individuals when they know that planning has been done. Have you asked the school sif they have such a plan?

One other issue of concern here is the risk associated with many of our school sthat are not sprinkered. It is my understanding that only new schools are required to have sprinklers. GCS may not be required to have sprinklers, but they are assuming a risk in schools without one, just as at Eastern. If the fire authorities feel that having a school protected with sprinklers is needed for new schools, what about older schools, which are probably at greater risk of fire? I know this would be an expensive proposition, but how important is the safety of school children? Questions such as this are why a contingency plan is needed to assess risks and plan for dealing with them.

There will be a "Pod" (one of those temporary storage buildings) at the Administration Building on Eugene Street. I hate to travel over there but I will for the Eastern kids. If I run into Marti or Susiee Mendenhall I'll throw up and be sick for the rest of the day, but for those kids I'll do anything.

I hope the computer is put to good use. Hopefully the School Board will come up with a plan to utilize all the donations EFFECTIVELY that are already pouring in. WXII12 has already collected thousands of dollars with their phone-drive.

PLEASE BOE, do the right thing by these kids. I'm sorry to be a pessimist, but my confidence in this board is at an all time low.

As matter of fact, we do have such a plan. It was revamped, coincidentally, just last week.

Allen,

Then you must see the value in such a plan. So, does the school administration have such a plan or not? You said this fire was an extraordinary event, but doesn't your plan contemplate such events?

I also noted today that a fire department representative said that the fire could have been contained to one room, if it had sprinklers. How many schools could have had sprinklers for what it will cost to replace Eastern? Why are we satisfied with not having sprinkler protection in schools just because the law doesn't require it? I, for one, believe that this is more important than all of Tery Grier's bogus innovative programs that cost millions of dollars that don't work. What say you?

I agree 100% with Stormy that installing sprinklers should be a top priority - and it can be done without increasing spending or raising taxes.

The Guilford County School Board wastes millions of dollars annually on unnecessary programs, extravagant construction and just general incompetence (see the recent middle school construction woes). That money would be far better spent on making schools safer.

However, I'm not yet ready to blame the board for not being fully prepared for the disaster at Eastern. It's like Hurricane Katrina - I thought the Bush administration took too much flak from many critics. After all, New Orleans has stood for 300 years without having a flood of that magnitude. It's unreasonable to expect government to have all the answers immediately.

The way I see it, GCS needs to get a plan together over the weekend and get the Eastern kids back in school next week. If they can't do that, well, then they deserve criticism. But so far, I can't fault the way they've handled this awful situation.

The fire at Eastern High School is a devastating tragedy.

What I find ironic is that there is such demand from the community to ensure that these students be allowed to stay together in whatever temporary school arrangments can be made.

Many in the media support this arrangement even when these same folks supported the High Point Choice Plan which effectively ensured that friends who had attended school together for 9 years (K-8) would be effectively split apart via a lottery.

I frankly don't see the difference.

Careful, Numbers Game. You sound like what the Yes Weekly editors would call a "secessionist". (Please see Yes Weekly endorsements and their refusal to endorse either District 2 schoolboard candidates.) Now I don't know exactly what Brian or Jordan mean by this, but I'm assuming they are labeling the District 2 candidates as such because of their support for neighborhood schools, which means that since the vast majority of parents anywhere, of any color, ethnic, or interest group, prefer their children going to school close to home, that the majority of people in this country are "seccesionists".

Of course, this begs the question, what are all the "secessionists" seceeeding from? Yes Weekly apparently thinks that in lieu of parents, Big Brother pols, in their infinite wisdom and corruption-free ethical systems, should decide where kids go to school. Sounds like a winner to me. Heck YES!

Well it looks like the Board made a decision about a temporary solution to the fire that destroyed Eastern High.

Students will be going to GTCC East and the former School of the Deaf.

From where I sit that appears to be a workable, if not perfect, solution.
Both campuses have ample room and good facilities.
If you haven't seen the School for the Deaf campus, it's on a wooded lot near Bryan Park, right off U.S. 29. A nice setting.

I am very sorry for Eastern and wholly support the efforts to keep them together. I just wish that the parents/grandparents/children of High Point had been treated with the same respect.

It is completely irresponsible to make this tragedy politcal and compare it to the High Point plan. They are two very different situations. Being in a building when it chatches fire and watching it be destroyed is traumatic. This is especially true when it is important to you such as your house, church, or school. I know from firsthand experience. In such a situation it is very important to stay together as much as possible. Anyone that would dare to make it political should be ashamed of themselves.

I agree fully. Somehow commenters manage to tied nearly every thread to the High Point Choice Plan in one way or another.

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