Published 7:31 am Thursday, October 29, 2026

On Oct. 15, a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School killed three children and a teacher and injured two other people. Silver Rail remains closed indefinitely. The rest of Bend-La Pine’s schools reopened on Oct. 21, with additional counselors and a visible police presence at the start and end of the school day.

Reopening was necessary. It is not the same as answering.

Silver Rail families are still waiting for a plan for their own children — where they will learn, and when. Other families made a different choice: some kept their children home, saying they would not return until security changes are made. Both responses come from the same place, and neither should be treated as a problem for the district to manage. They are information the district needs to act on, in public.

A petition launched by Silver Rail parent Trey Heiss had drawn more than 1,500 signatures by Oct. 20.…