Bend-La Pine Schools seeks community input at engagement sessions before deciding return to Silver Rail
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Nearly three weeks after four people were killed inside Silver Rail Elementary School — and other lives forever changed — families are confronting a decision few could have imagined: whether, when, and how to return.
A Bend-La Pine Schools survey found 86.2% of respondents listed returning to Silver Rail as their first choice. But district leaders stressed that the result does not mean every family or staff member is ready to go back.
The survey also found 84.6% of respondents said additional safety measures would help them feel prepared to return.
“Everybody is processing this in their own way,” Superintendent Dr. Steven Cook told KTVZ. “While the general sentiment was they want their school back, they certainly have other concerns that they want to engage about.”
Cook and Bend-La Pine Schools Board Chair Amy Tatom said the district will listen to families, staff and the broader community before making final decisions about the school’s future.
One of the most common questions is whether Silver Rail will have an increased law enforcement presence. The district currently has eight school resource officers serving 33 schools. No final decisions have been made.
“Our responsibility in this is to listen and to get feedback, and then to try to create an environment in which most of those needs can be met,” Cook said. “This is not a one-and-done conversation. I think we’re going to be talking about this for many years to come.”
The first of two engagement sessions will be held Wednesday, November 4th, for Silver Rail families and staff, giving those who experienced the tragedy most closely a separate space to speak and be heard.
“Their experience is different than that of families who were not directly impacted by being in the building at the time of the incident,” Tatom said. “And so, I think it is important to allow those to be separate meetings.”
A second session Thursday, November 5th, will open the conversation to the broader community. Both sessions will include district leaders, school board members, Bend Police and mental health support. Both will also be livestreamed.
Silver Rail remains closed for repairs through at least Friday, and the district has not announced a date for students and staff to return.
Cook said any reopening would happen gradually and in consultation with the Silver Rail community.
“We’re certainly not going to make any final decisions with the Silver Rail community until we have their voice in the room with us,” he said. “It’s not going to be just, ‘Open the doors, and here we all come.’ It’s going to be small doses and steps and making sure that supports are in place.”
Tatom said the district recognizes that returning to the building — and navigating the grief surrounding it — will not follow a simple timeline.
“I want our community to know that we are here for them,” she said. “It’s normal to be grieving, and that grief is not a linear process. It’s a long-term process.”
The community-wide engagement session will be held Thursday, November 5th, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Pilot Butte Middle School.
