Schools across Oregon and Southwest Washington canceled classes Tuesday following the holiday weekend’s winter storms. Some districts — including Salem-Keizer, North Clackamas and Beaverton — are planning for continued delays or closures on Wednesday as freezing rain rolls into the region.
Oregon’s largest district, Portland Public Schools, by early afternoon Tuesday had already announced it would be closed Wednesday.
“As it becomes safe for maintenance staff to get to each school, they are fully assessing building conditions,” PPS officials wrote in an emailed message Tuesday. “While most schools have power restored, there is potential for further issues tomorrow morning.”
Some schools and districts have been hit harder than others.
PPS staff said Tuesday morning that roughly a dozen buildings across Portland’s more than 80 school campuses were without power Monday. By Tuesday afternoon, all but one had power again, with updates frequently changing. About five schools, to the district’s knowledge, have frozen or burst pipe issues.
In this submitted photo taken Jan. 14, 2024, damage to the covered play area and play structures at West Tualatin View Elementary School in Southwest Portland, part of the Beaverton School District. A representative for the Beaverton School District said they are addressing building concerns in about four to six facilities.
Courtesy of Ross Segelken
“It may be more,” said district spokesperson Will Howell, “but we haven’t been able to do complete assessments.”
Five school communities in Portland’s West Hills are typically hit the hardest, he explained. Forest Park Elementary, Skyline K-8, Ainsworth Elementary, West Sylvan Middle and Lincoln High are considered by district officials as “the frozen five.” Forest Park’s boiler was “totally frozen” still on Tuesday. These schools on Portland’s west side tend to get more snow, and even if the schools are clear, often the high-elevation neighborhoods around them — where students are coming from — are not.
Howell told OPB it’s “not as simple as ‘can people get in their cars and get to school.’”
Maintenance workers need to be able to check the schools’ conditions, he said, something they couldn’t do for many buildings this weekend. They’re checking core systems like power, water and heat, as well as how clear the sidewalks and roads are for walkers, buses and cars. They’re also doing some preventative maintenance — such as better insulating pipes and firing up the heat — since the storm was more severe than expected.
“At this time, we know that 11 schools would not be able to open tomorrow based on the information we have,” Howell said Tuesday afternoon. “As conditions become safer, our maintenance staff will continue their inspections to make sure schools can safely reopen Thursday, and [we] will communicate with school communities should we identify school-specific issues that would prevent reopening.”
Farther west in the Beaverton School District, spokesperson Shellie Bailey-Shah said the district is addressing building concerns in about four to six facilities.
Freezing rain starts to accumulate on the playground outside Sabin Elementary School in Northeast Portland, Jan. 16, 2024. Portland Public Schools has announced the district will close for a second day on Wednesday due to winter weather.
Rob Manning / OPB
Power outages and damage from the storm led to the district closing on Tuesday, which was already scheduled as a no-student staff development day. The district canceled classes for Wednesday as well.
“I think out of 53 schools, we only have two with plumbing issues,” Bailey-Shah said Tuesday morning. “So, I think we’ll take that as a win, given the circumstances.”
Winter weather continues to be a significant problem in the southern Willamette Valley as well. Kim Patten, the operations director for the Corvallis School District, said their biggest concerns right now are parking lots, school grounds and transportation considerations.
“Keeping students, families, and staff safe is the most important consideration for weather closures and delays,” added Corvallis Superintendent Ryan Noss in an email. “While roads in some areas of our community are clear from the warmer temperatures and sunny skies, many outlying areas in the hills surrounding the city center are unsafe for travel.”
In Southwest Washington, Evergreen Public Schools and Battle Ground Public Schools were also closed Tuesday, but staff from both districts told OPB they didn’t have any damage to facilities, with the exception of a broken sprinkler pipe at one Evergreen school. Officials said the leak is being fixed and will not impact student learning.
Oregon’s Gervais School District — a smaller, more rural district south of Woodburn — had already announced by Tuesday morning that it would start classes late on Wednesday.
Gervais Superintendent Dandy Stevens said Tuesday they didn’t have any burst pipes or fallen trees on district property. However, they were having issues with the high school and elementary school boiler systems prior to the cold snap.
Looking at the projected temperatures and knowing they would need to have the buses on the road early in the mornings to begin picking up students, Stevens said the district decided it would be better to give the district staff, transportation crews and those who drive in a couple of additional hours to arrive safely.