How Earthquake-Safe Are Oceanside Schools?

A 19-month California Watch investigation uncovered holes in the state's enforcement of seismic safety regulations for public schools. Though all Oceanside schools were found to meet earthquake standards, 11 buildings at El Camino High School are considered potentially at risk.

The El Camino High buildings listed as being potentially hazardous in an earthquake and in need of a detailed structural evaluation include the school’s gym, library, industrial arts building, food service area, theater and classrooms.

While these are considered potentially at risk, there is no quantifiable data that the buildings would actually fail in an earthquake. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that Oceanside is not near any major fault lines.

California began regulating school architecture for seismic safety in 1933 with the Field Act, but data taken from the Division of the State Architect’s (DSA) office show 20,000 school projects statewide never got final safety certifications. In the crunch to get schools built within the last few decades, state architects have been lax on enforcement, California Watch reported. 

A separate inventory completed nine years ago found 7,500 seismically risky school buildings in the state. According to California Watch, however, only two East Bay schools have been able to access a $200 million fund for upgrades.

El Camino High School is on the state’s radar because it is considered an Assembly Bill 300 school — one that is potentially at risk during an earthquake — because it has buildings that do not meet the minimum requirements of the 1976 Uniform Building Code.

“All buildings referenced on this list have been modernized. Furthermore, new approval numbers were submitted to the DSA as of Dec. 8, 2005,” the Oceanside Unified School District’s Facilities Department said in a statement.

However, Gretchen Zeagler, a DSA spokesperson, says its records indicate it does not have seismic reviews or retrofits for El Camino High’s 11 buildings.

“They may have done it, but we don’t have the detailed structural evaluations," she said. "It is not required for them to do it or to send it to us, but we request that they do.”

In its statement to Patch, the Oceanside Unified School District said it “considers the safety of all students and staff to be of paramount importance and has been and continues to be proactive in modernizing facilities and keeping them up to code.”

If seismic evaluations are submitted or resubmitted to the DSA, El Camino High can be taken off the AB 300 list.

You can download more complete lists of uncertified and AB 300 projects here. 

This story was produced using data provided to Patch by California Watch, the state's largest investigative reporting team and part of the Center for Investigative Reporting. Read about Patch's Partnership with California Watch.

For more on seismic safety, see related stories on the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, and .

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