The City of Durant approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Durant Independent School District to use school buildings for shelters in case of an emergency.
Durant Emergency Management Director Richard Ezell spoke to city council members about an MOU with the school district that had been approved earlier this year for use of school buses in an emergency. Ezell said that when talking to Durant Schools Superintendent Mark Moring, Moring said he also wanted an MOU for use of school facilities as shelters.
“It’s for in the event of a disaster or any kind of incident where sheltering is needed and the school is not being used, then they would open it up for sheltering,” Ezell said.
The memorandum states, “The (school) district agrees to make designated school facilities available for use as emergency shelters or reunifi cation site(s) during times of emergency or disaster, when requested by the city.
“The city agrees to coordinate shelter operations, staffing, supplies, and security in cooperation with the district and relevant agencies (e.g., Red Cross, Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management).
“This MOU applies only to facilities mutually identified and approved in advance of shelter activation by the city and the district.”
In August, the council approved an MOU between the City of Durant and the Durant Independent School District for use of school buses in the event of an emergency.
Ezell said during that meeting he was redoing the city’s emergency operations plan and that the current plan mentions an agreement between the city and the school district to use their buses for evacuation during an emergency.
However, Ezell said he could not find written documentation for this agreement and Moring did not know of any either.
The city would reimburse the school district for the costs if the buses were used in an emergency. Ezell said buses were used about five years ago to evacuate people from King’s Daughters & Sons Nursing home when there was a natural gas leak.