Paso Robles school board reviews $180,000 plan, raising questions about its practical impact and coordination with city emergency services
PASO ROBLES — The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District board reviewed the Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP) at its Tuesday, Aug. 12, meeting. Developed through a county-led grant initiative, the plan evaluates the district’s vulnerability to natural and human-caused hazards and outlines strategies to reduce related risks. While already approved by the California Office of Emergency Services and FEMA, the plan requires final adoption by the board to maintain eligibility for federal disaster mitigation funding. Some board members questioned its practical impact, noting that it primarily serves as a federally encouraged assessment rather than providing new directives for the district.
The Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP) was created to meet the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requirements, which mandate that local, county, and tribal governments develop hazard mitigation plans to qualify for federal disaster relief and mitigation grants. In 2020, the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education (SLOCOE) obtained a grant to prepare a MJHMP for 10 of the county’s 11 school districts, excluding San Luis Coastal Unified School District, which already had a FEMA-approved plan. The MJHMP evaluates each district’s vulnerability to natural and human-caused hazards and outlines strategies to reduce related risks. It has been approved by the California Office of Emergency Services and FEMA, and now awaits final adoption by each participating school board.
Trustee Kenney Enney expressed concerns about why the plan was put into place and didn’t involve the city fire or police department. He asked, “What’s the intent of this? What are we supposed to do with it?”
Bob Newman with Category Five Professional Consultants, Inc. clarified that while the plan is not required, it is desired when needing to receive federal funding in case of an emergency. Newman also said that it cost around $180,000 in grant funding to put the plan together.
“If the city fire chief and the police chief came in here and said, ‘These are the things that we want you to do,’ I’m all for it,” said Enney.
Newman shared that he was not sure if Paso Robles Fire Chief Jonathan Stornetta or Paso Robles Police Chief Damien Nord has reviewed the county’s MJHMP, but “The City has a hazardous mitigation plan, they could have chosen to bring you in under their plan, they chose not to do that.”
Despite Enney’s concerns, the MJHMP was approved unanimously by the trustees, a 5-0 vote with Trustees Jim Cogan and Leo Castillo absent from the meeting.
The next Paso Robles Joint Unified School District meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 6:30 p.m.
