State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Visits Schools in Wildfire-Affected Plumas County, Seeks Donations for New Playground

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond visited several schools in wildfire-affected Plumas County to welcome students back and celebrate the first day of in-person instruction for Greenville Elementary School students on Monday. There are five schools and education-related programs impacted by the Dixie Fire in Plumas. The Plumas Charter School (Greenville Learning Center) and Greenville Roundhouse (American Indian Education Center) were destroyed in the wildfire, while others, including Greenville Elementary, saw damage to their facilities.

Superintendent Thurmond joined Plumas County Superintendent of Education Terry R. Oestreich as well as Assemblymember Megan Dahle (R-Bieber) and education leaders and community officials to greet Greenville Elementary School students and their families back to school as they have been relocated to attend classes on other campuses and the repurposed Taylorsville Outdoor Education Center due to devastation to infrastructure and utilities in the Greenville community and surrounding area. He then welcomed students at Chester Elementary School and Chester Junior/Senior High School in Chester to learn about the impacts of the Dixie Fire on schools and the surrounding community.

Superintendent Thurmond distributed donations of gift cards to be used for gas and other needs and is helping the community to raise money to build a new playground on the Greenville Elementary campus, which lost two play structures in the fire, by putting out a statewide call for donations. To spur the effort, Thurmond is pledging $10,000 to match the first $10,000 that comes in from donations. This is made possible through the funds raised by the State Superintendent and team at the Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation (CDEF) and the Emergency Response Fund.

“These students and this community have been through so much,” Thurmond shared during his school visit. “It is my hope that joining together to bring the children new playground equipment to allow them to play together normally will be one small part of the healing process they face.” 

Check donations for the new playground can be sent to the Plumas County Office of Education at 50 Church Street Quincy, CA 95971. Please write “Playground for Plumas” in the memo line of the check. Donations may also be made via an online donation portal which will be available on the Plumas County Office of Education website in the coming days.

 Superintendent Thurmond is visiting schools across the state to uplift the incredible work and resilience of educators, students, families, and community partners as schools struggle with reopening for in-person learning and the threat of wildfires.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100