Schools plan to reopen after deadly storms

Under Oklahoma law, students must receive 175 days or 1,050 hours of instruction each school year. During the past 20 years, the state Board of Education has allowed a handful of Oklahoma school districts to cancel classes for the remainder of the school year following tornadoes that devastated those areas. Those districts include Oologah-Talala in 1991, Catoosa in 1993, Picher-Cardin and Quapaw in 2008, and Little Axe, Varnum, and Butner last year.

But that’s probably not an option for Tushka, because the tornado occurred in mid-April, just five weeks before the district’s scheduled last day of school. While Tushka elementary school and middle school students have completed their state-mandated testing for the school year, the district’s high school students have not.

Simpson said the elementary and middle school students finished their tests on April 14, hours before the tornado hit. The tests were contained in a box that was placed in a closet in a school building that was “semi-destroyed,” he said.

“But the box wasn’t damaged,” he said. “This has been a horrible experience but there are a few things that have worked to our advantage.”

State schools Superintendent Janet Barresi toured Tushka on April 16 and pledged to offer the state Department of Education’s support. Barresi asked the state’s Department of Central Services to make available surplus state items such as computers, desks, chairs and other supplies.

“Everything is on the table to see what we can do to assist them and clear the decks to make sure they have the resources they need,” said Barresi’s spokesman, Damon Gardenhire.

Gov. May Fallin requested a federal disaster declaration on April 18 for Atoka County, which would help provide federal assistance to individuals and businesses in the area. During her visit to the town Saturday, Fallin said “in the long term, we’ve got to find out how to build a new school in that area.”

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