Omaha Public Schools to review severe weather guidelines


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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha Public Schools says it's reviewing its severe weather procedures after parents were told they couldn't take shelter inside an elementary school during a tornado warning.

The Omaha World-Herald (http://bit.ly/1SOVAqL ) reports that Principal Adriana Vargas reportedly told parents of Castelar Elementary students that they would have to wait the storm out in their vehicles Wednesday around 4 p.m.

The action disturbed parents such as Jennifer Lang, who said she huddled outside the school entrance with about two dozen other parents during the storm.

"To me, that's the wrong call, to leave over 20 parents outside when there's an active tornado warning and a confirmed tornado on the ground," Lang said. "That's putting parents' lives in danger."

District spokeswoman Monique Farmer said Vargas and other principals at crowded schools had concerns about letting more people in when space was tight inside storm shelters. She said the students' safety was the highest priority.

Lang said she understands security concerns but noted that school employees know most of the parents.

"I'd like to see a plan put in place for parents who are there to pick up their kids if that happens," she said. "They should at least let you in the front door so you're in some sort of shelter."

Schools aren't necessarily required to act as public shelters, said Paul Johnson, director of the Douglas County Emergency Management Agency.

The district's current storm guidelines don't address what to do with people outside the school during severe weather. A committee of officials, including school safety and transportation representatives, will meet in coming weeks to discuss different scenarios and provide clearer rules to schools and parents.

"We need to step through these specific kinds of situations we could run into if we have an active warning during dismissal, like we had yesterday," Farmer said.

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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, http://www.omaha.com

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