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I hope you and your families are having a safe and happy summer.

Safety has been the recurring theme this summer as the Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê prepares for the return of students. One of the major projects taking place has been seismic evaluations at Ursa Major Elementary School. Ursa Major is one of 85 schools under analysis by an engineering firm since the 2018 earthquake.

I am writing to make you aware of findings from a verbal report the engineers brought forth late last week that included concerns that if a seismic event was to occur, the building would not perform at a level of collapse prevention that the District requires of its campuses.

Out of an abundance of caution, I have decided to halt the use of Ursa Major until further evaluation has been done. The District will receive a full written report from the engineering firm this week.

This is a developing situation and I will provide updates as they become available. With only a few weeks until the start of the school year, my intent is for families and staff to be among the first to receive information of this nature.

Conversations are beginning now with numerous stakeholders, including all principals at JBER, JBER leadership, and others.

I understand you may have many questions and possible concerns, among which will include how the closure will impact your students. Please know we are working to determine next steps and information will be sent through email updates to JBER families and staff, in addition to being posted to the Ursa Major website and to the District Hot Topics page. Details regarding rezoning, transportation, registration, and more will be delivered as information unfolds. 

Again, we are in the early discovery stages of what this means for the JBER community. This will be a large logistical puzzle to piece together over the coming weeks. Please know—there is a space for you in our Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê community and we will work through this to start the school year strong. 

Best,

Jharrett Bryantt, Ed.D.
Superintendent

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