Alameda district to decide fate of quake-threatened school

School officials and a group of distressed parents in Alameda agree that if a big earthquake strikes, the saturated ground under Lum Elementary School would likely become unstable, a process known as liquefaction that could cause classrooms to sink and come apart.

District Superintendent Sean McPhetridge, on the advice of two structural engineering firms that studied the soil, recommended closing Lum at the end of the school year and moving students to several other city schools.

Some parents, though, responded by gathering their own expert advice and mounting a campaign to keep the school open next year, allowing time for the district to further explore the problem and possible solutions.

The school consists of single-story buildings, with groups of classrooms, or pods, circling a common area.

Based on soil samples, the project’s engineer determined that in the event of a catastrophic 100-year quake — one with a probability of 1 percent in any given year — the buildings could sink up to 5 inches, potentially collapsing or partially collapsing.

The parents gathered their own evidence, including opinions from engineers and other experts who said the issue needs further study to determine whether school structures would be at risk and, if they are, what options are available to shore them up.

[...] the focus, she said, is student and staff safety in the face of potential building collapse.

Parent Deb Balot, whose daughter is a Lum first-grader, said the district is moving too quickly to close a school that has sat on the same soil since the 1950s — and has seen its share of earthquakes without buckling.

Balot and other parents fear that moving students will remove the incentive for the district to improve and reopen the school.

“As a district we have a legal, moral, and professional obligation to protect the lives and safety of our students and staff,” McPhetridge said.