School board halts remodel of Georgia Brown Elementary

May 25, 2023

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District voted on Tuesday to delay a planned remodel of Georgia Brown Elementary School over potentially dangerous geological concerns at the campus.[KSBY]

Earlier this year, the school board voted 4-3 to renovate Georgia Brown Elementary, located on 36th Street. As part of the state approval process for the modernization and construction of the school, the district was required to perform a geotechnical soils study to identify potential dangers including ground shaking, surface rupture, liquefaction and landslides.

Investigators found an “anomalous feature” exists directly under the current campus.

On Tuesday, the school board voted 6-1 to delay designs for a remodel of the elementary school campus, as well as to delay moving Georgia Brown students and staff to a temporary site next to Flamson Middle School. Georgia Brown Elementary will continue operating at its 36th Street campus for now. The district says the campus is currently safe.

The district will soon have an excavation company drill down to a trench to determine whether or not it is an active fault. The drilling is also expected to reveal the exact depth and location of the anomalous feature under the campus.

In preparation for the drilling, the excavation company will conduct a site inspect at Georgia Brown Elementary next Wednesday.