Iowa schools urged to build safe rooms

DES MOINES - More schools should have severe weather 'safe rooms,” the head of Iowa's emergency department said Monday.

Mark Schouten, director of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, told reporters 'there aren't enough” buildings outfitted with special rooms that can withstand high impacts. He spoke during a news conference on severe weather preparedness.

'Clearly, it is an important thing to keep our schoolchildren safe in event of a tornado or other severe weather,” he said. 'It is something we are promoting, and I expect you will see more safe rooms in the future.”

The department makes money available for school districts that want to construct safe rooms, which the Federal Emergency Management Agency defines as 'a hardened structure specifically designed to meet the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) criteria and provide ‘near-absolute protection' in extreme weather events, including tornadoes and hurricanes.”

According to FEMA regulations, rooms should be designed to withstand winds of 250 mph and be able to resist a 15-pound 2x4 board traveling at 100 mph horizontally and 67 mph vertically.

Homeland Security Department spokeswoman Stefanie Bond wrote in an e-mail the department has helped pay for or set money aside for 40 tornado safe-room projects, which includes projects in 33 school districts. Of the projects, 32 of the 40 are complete.

The cost for all 40 projects is $42 million.

'If a school/district has constructed a safe room that wasn't funded by us, it's not on this list (although I am not aware if there are any that haven't been funded through us),” Bond wrote.

Gov. Terry Branstad said although the state doesn't provide additional funding for school safe rooms, districts that want to build them should look at the federal funding distributed through the state Homeland Security department.

'We all have concerns about the safety and well-being for our children and grandchildren, and we want to make sure that schools are as safe as possible,” he said. 'We are also a state that believes in local control of our schools and those decisions are made at the local level.”

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EASTERN IOWA SCHOOL SAFE ROOMS

l Alburnett CSD, K12, Alburnett, IA, Linn County, in the amount of $1,248,433 to construct a multi-purpose tornado safe room to be used as classrooms to protect the at-risk population of 804 students, staff, and visitors attending school functions. Completed

l Anamosa CSD, MS, Anamosa, IA, Jones County, in the amount of $722,015 to construct a multi-purpose tornado safe room addition as a wrestling room/lockers to protect the at-risk population of 537 students, staff, and visitors attending school functions. Completed

l Cardinal CSD, Elem, Eldon, IA, Wapello County, in the amount of $638,453 to construct a new cafeteria addition to the existing elementary school. The tornado safe room will provide near absolute life protection for 373 Students, staff, and visitors during the day and during school events. Completed

l Cedar Falls CSD, Sports Complex, Cedar Falls, IA, Black Hawk County, in the amount of $843,570 to construct new facility near school athletic fields to include batting cage and rest rooms. The tornado safe room will provide near absolute life protection for 271 identified/ quantified at-risk population. Completed

l Cedar Rapids CSD, (Administrative Building), Cedar Rapids, IA, Linn County, in the amount of $596,260 to construct a multi-purpose safe room to be used as offices for the Administrative Staff to protect the at-risk population of 466 staff and visitors. Completed

l Grundy Center CSD (5th-12th grades), Grundy Center, IA, Grundy County, in the amount of $803,411 to construct a multi-use space to be used as classrooms to be attached to the high school building. This will protect the at-risk population of 488 students, staff and visitors.

l Howard-Winneshiek CSD (Day Care & Pre-K), Lime Springs, IA, Howard County in the amount of $575,000 to construct a multi-purpose tornado safe room to be used for the Pre-K/daycare center attached to the elementary school. This will protect the at-risk population of 286 pre-school children, daycare children, elementary students and staff. Completed

l Independence CSD, HS, Independence, IA, Buchanan County, in the amount of $956,723 to construct a multi-functional safe room as an addition to the new high school to protect 712 students/ staff and visitors. Completed

l Valley CSD, K12, Elgin, IA, Clayton County in the amount of $727,361. The community safe room will serve the Kindergarten through 12th grand campus. The proposed project consists of a wrestling/multi-purpose room and restrooms. This safe room provides near absolute life protection to 605 at-risk students, staff, and visitors. Completed

l Waverly Shell-Rock CSD, MS, Waverly, IA, Bremer County, in the amount of $1,453,859 to construct a multi-purpose tornado safe room to be used as an auditorium to protect the at-risk population of 1,130 students, staff, and visitors attending school functions. Completed

l Waverly Shell-Rock CSD, HS, Waverly, IA, Bremer County, in the amount $1,344,827 to construct a new science department of 4 classrooms, offices and a conference room to meet the FEMA 361 Design and Construction for a community safe room. The design will protect the at-risk population of 1,002 students, staff, and visitors to the high school.

l West Liberty CSD, HS, West Liberty, IA, Muscatine County in the amount of $873,000 to construct a multi-purpose tornado safe room to be used as a weight/wrestling room to protect the at-risk population of 774 students, staff, and visitors attending school functions. Completed

l Western Dubuque CSD, Elem, Dyersville, IA, Dubuque County in the amount of $989,355 to construct a multi-purpose tornado safe room to be used as classrooms to protect the at-risk population of 532 students, staff, and visitors attending school functions. Completed

l Williamsburg CSD, HS, Williamsburg, IA, Iowa County in the amount of $1,020,889 to construct a multi-purpose wrestling room and locker rooms to protect the at-risk population of 1,158 students, staff and visitors attending school functions. Completed

As of May 5, 2014, 40 tornado safe room projects have been approved/completed within 33 school districts for approximately $42,420,950. All of these school safe rooms will be multi-purpose rooms to include auditoriums, weight/wrestling, classrooms, sports complex areas and school activity rooms. The occupancy number is approximately 30,000 for the at-risk population of students, staff, and visitors.

-Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management