House committee approves efforts to protect schools from earthquakes and tsunamis

OLYMPIA – Sitting along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, experts say it’s a question of “if, not when” Washington will experience an earthquake of significant magnitude. While the USGS notes that eastern Washington has a lower earthquake risk than western Washington, lawmakers from across the state are backing a proposal to help schools retrofit their buildings to address earthquake and tsunami risks.

On Monday, the House Capital Budget Committee submitted the proposal to the full House.

According to a Department of Natural Resources analysis of 561 school buildings across the state, 63% of them have a “high” or “very high” priority for seismic retrofits. Nine school buildings in Spokane – including the main buildings for Adams Elementary School and Libby Center – fall into the “high” priority category.

Senator David Frucket, a Democrat from Seattle, has sponsored a bill that would create a grant program for schools looking to upgrade their facilities to deal with hazards posed by earthquakes or tsunamis. He said the program will provide schools with the necessary funds to ensure the safety of students.

“We need a full government approach to support these schools in these areas where these children could be at risk,” Fruckett told The Spokesman-Review.

Under the law, which the Senate passed unanimously last month, eligible schools in areas at risk of earthquakes and tsunamis can apply for grants to fund construction projects that would address the risks. The scholarship amount will be at least two-thirds of the project cost but will not be awarded until the school determines where the remaining funds will come from.

Schools will apply for grants through the Office of the Superintendent of Public Education where an advisory committee creates a priority list of projects to be funded. The Superintendent of General Instructions and the Governor take that list and submit funding requests as part of the capital budget proposal to the legislature.

The Senate’s supplemental capital budget proposal for this year includes $115 million to implement the program although that number is likely to change as the budget process continues. The House capital budget proposal allocates about $75 million for seismic retrofits but does not take into account the proposed Frockt program.

“I hope to be able to persuade the House to meet with me with a commitment on this program somewhere where the Senate has proposed it,” Fruckett said. “We have to see where she plays.”

Historically, Fruckett said, state funding for seismic retrofits has been “partial” — small in scale and slow to get out the door. He said the grant program will define the commitment to earthquake retrofit financing for years to come.

“By putting it into law, you put in place a mechanism that will be funded every year,” Fruckett said.

Hoquiam is located on the edge of a bay a few miles off the main coast of Washington. The Ministry of Natural Resources has identified it as a very high risk area in terms of earthquake and tsunami risks. Nine buildings in the Hoquiam school district have “high” or “very high” priority for seismic retrofitting, according to the department’s school analysis.

Matt Kempf, facilities manager for the Hoquiam School District, said they are constantly looking for cost-effective ways to upgrade school buildings with the resources they have at their disposal. However, the resources available are so limited that seismic retrofittings of its old buildings have to wait 10 to 15 years.

“Our hands are tied,” Kempf said. “We don’t have the resources.”

But Kempf said he knows the region can’t wait.

“The longer we wait, the more dice rolled. The more we will end up with a catastrophic event,” he said.

Kempf said the revised grant program would go a long way in helping the area complete much-needed seismic upgrades.

“It will offset the vast majority of the costs that will be borne by the local community,” he said. “It will allow us to maximize the use of local dollars more efficiently and effectively.”

At the bill’s public hearing in January, proponents of the measure said the risk to students was too great to be ignored.

“It is not acceptable to assign our children to attend a school that is in danger of collapsing during an earthquake,” DaleAnn Baker, a parent and member of the Washington State Parent-Teacher Association, told the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

When the proposal was approved unanimously by the House Capital Budget Committee on Monday, Representative Mike Steele, Republican of Chelan, emphasized the broad support behind ensuring the safety of school buildings.

“We all have a real desire to see our students safely in their buildings when they are trying to learn,” Steele said. “We place an enormous amount of value on the safety of our students.”

Fruket said conversations he had with emergency management officials revealed that increased funding was urgently needed to improve earthquake preparedness efforts statewide. This grant program is just a small part of that effort, he said.

“I hope I’ve tried to help,” Frucket said. “But, you know, he probably needs a lot of attention.”

The bill establishing the grant program still needs study by the full council. Capital budget authors from the Senate and the House of Representatives will work together to determine how much funding the program will receive from this year’s supplemental capital budget.

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