MLSD announces plan in light of Groff closure

MOSES LAKE — Groff Elementary will be closed for the rest of the school year, according to an announcement from Moses Lake School District Superintendent Carol Lewis at the March 6 school board meeting. As a result, district officials have initiated plans to ensure Groff students continue their education without interruption.  

“We understand that this is going to be challenging, frustrating and new for families to go through,” MLSD Director of Public Relations Ryan Shannon said. “This is a pretty big lift that we're asking of families and even staff and most importantly, the students. This is a big deal, and we are just appreciative of the ongoing communication that teachers and families are having as we start to map out those educational plans for the coming weeks.” 

Groff students attended classes from home last week after an electrical problem caused an unidentified person to be shocked on campus. The school was originally planned to be closed March 3 through March 7.  

Educational materials will be available for students at Groff on Monday, March 10, during the following designated hours: 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., noon to 1:00 p.m., and 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. These materials will cater to learning needs for the upcoming week, following the current distribution process. 

As part of the relocation plan, students will attend various schools across the district starting Monday, March 17.  

Due to space limitations, the entire Groff student body cannot be housed in a single location. Therefore, various classes will be distributed among campuses in a manner that keeps students with their current teachers and classmates. 

• Kindergarten: Lakeview School
• First Grade: Garden Heights School
• Second Grade: Lakeview School
• Third Grade: Longview School
• Fourth and Fifth Grades: Vanguard, House 2
• Life Skills Program: Garden Heights School 

Teachers will transition alongside their classes. Additionally, physical education and music instructors will continue to provide instruction to their students at the new sites. 

“We're hoping that it'll be as seamless as possible,” Shannon said. We know there's going to be the stumbling blocks, and we know that this is going to be a big change, but we're hoping to make it as easy as possible for the kiddos. 

Shannon said the administration is working with staff throughout the district to ensure Groff students have as seamless an integration into their new campuses as possible.  

Transportation arrangements have been established, with Groff serving as the base for student drop-off and pick-up. Parents can continue to use Groff for transportation, while students who ride the bus will be taken to their designated schools. Students will return to Groff at the end of each school day for dismissal as per usual procedures. Staff will supervise students both before and after school to ensure safety. 

“We still are kind of fleshing out all of the aspects of what that's going to look like, and I know that transportation has been meeting to figure out what that looks like, as far as time frame and everything else,” Shannon said. “So, I don't have all the specifics to that right now. But I know that that is kind of the plan, just to kind of use Groff because it's familiar as a kind of a staging area for kids to begin their day.” 

Open houses are being organized at each new location so families can familiarize themselves with the new environments.  

The district aims to connect with every family daily during the ongoing transition, with teachers reaching out through Parent Square, Shannon said.  

“The principal has stated that her base of operations, or at least what she anticipates, would be over at Vanguard with the fourth and fifth grade classes, just because they need a little bit more of that administration component,” Shannon said. “Then she will be moving around the district to the buildings where her students are and just to continue the work of her administrative duties. So it's going to be a changing experience for all parties, and what that picture ends up looking like, we'll continue to morph as we get further into this.” 

Free meals will be available for Groff students throughout the week until the transition happens from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Groff campus. For those requiring assistance with food or educational resources, the district encourages families to reach out to school counselors for coordination. 

Last April, a similar situation happened with someone being shocked at the Groff campus. Shannon said the electrical problems are related to contractual issues the district has been working on with the general contractor that built Groff, Richland-based Fowler General Construction. The nearly $27 million school was paid for by a voter-approved bond in 2017. The school opened in September 2021.  

“We have had some challenges at Groff Elementary with an electrical issue, and people probably recall that we had a similar challenge last year, and some fixes were put in place, and it was believed that those were enough to prevent the issues from reoccurring,” Lewis said during the board meeting. “Well, recently, we had some electrical issues reoccur, and we needed to, for the safety of staff and students, close the building to try to do some more tests to try to figure out what's going on.”