Parents found out more Thursday night about a problem facing one of the city's oldest schools, San Rafael Elementary in Pasadena, which was recently discovered to sit atop four earthquake fault lines. Beverly White reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on May 17, 2012.
Pasadena School Sits Atop Four Fault Lines: Report
The future of Pasadena's San Rafael Elementary School is shaky after a report on new seismic findings indicated the presence of four earthquake faults passing through the campus. Options going forward include building a new school on a another portion of the campus, away from the lines, or re-opening one of the district's other schools that was closed after a decline in enrollment. Patrick Healy reports from Pasadena for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on May 11, 2012.
Built in 1918, San Rafael Elementary School is one of the oldest schools in the San Gabriel Valley.
It has a language immersion program that is sought out by many parents, but now parents and students know the school is sitting on four fault lines.
If the state affirms the existence of four fault lines beneath the school, families learned at a meeting Thursday night about options for the future, including rebuilding the school or relocating the students.
"I can understand their fear," said parent Mercedes Navarro. "The kids are fearful now. They understand something is going on."
Other neighbors believe San Rafael's days are numbered.
One former San Rafael parent has a unique perspective: Dr. Lucy Jones works for the U.S. Geological Survey, and is one of the world's foremost experts on seismology.
"This is a way to look at how the state has handled this issue," Jones said. "We don't want to put our kids at risk in a school. And so you don't make 'em tear down the school immediately but you don't go and build a new school once you know that the fault is there."
The superintendent said the school board is still in research mode.
"If we had already made a decision in private, it would undermine the whole process of gathering public input on the options available to us," said Dr. Jon Gundry. "It simply hasn't happened."
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