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Friday
November 20, 2009 Since 1922 |
GCCISD says storm won't shutter Lee
By Kari Griffin
Baytown Sun Published September 18, 2008 Less than one month after Baytown’s third high school opened, rumors are flying that students will once again be attending just two campuses thanks to Hurricane Ike.
But Goose Creek school board officials hope to put an end to this gossip before it spreads any further.
The truth is, at this point, no decisions have been made yet. And they won’t be until district employees can accurately assess the damages suffered by each campus, and determine what that means for the fate of each school.
Goose Creek director of support services Pete Cote, (who has been the district’s emergency management coordinator this past week), said that Robert E. Lee High School will not be closing, although the campus did suffer the most water damage.
“Right now, we have a restoration service in the building,” Goose Creek Superintendent Barbara Sultis said Wednesday.
What mechanical problems this will cause is unknown at this point, but district officials expect to have their answer by Monday night’s board meeting, Sultis said.
The Lee gym is intact, and only the front of the building that houses the administration offices was partially destroyed, she said.
The windows at Lee have been boarded up and adhesive was put across the top of the main building to waterproof it.
“Water did not enter all of the buildings at Lee, just the main building,” Sultis said.
It’s also untrue that the storm surge caused the school to flood.
“The creek went wel up the parking lot but it never entered the building,” Sultis said.
Sultis and Cote said none of the Goose Creek campuses suffered any major structural damage.
But, Sultis added, “we have extensive fencing damage throughout the district.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, half of the campuses had power, but that does not mean they are ready to reopen, or that staff can visit the schools.
“Right now, we’re not allowing anybody into any building,” Sultis said.
Getting the electricity going is only the first of many steps that will need to be taken for the schools to reopen.
“That’s only part of it,” Sultis said. “Then you have to test all of these systems.”
As each school gets power, teams can go in and check out air conditioning systems, alarms, refrigerators, pipes and everything else that must be in working order before students return.
Because the district can’t find glass in Baytown, officials are looking at a five-day waiting period until they can even replace broken windows.
Sultis also said that all Goose Creek students will return to class at one time, not as their school becomes ready to reopen.
“When all of our students can be housed in facilities, that’s when we’re going to start school,” Sultis said.
If a few of the schools can’t open with the rest, then the district will look at other temporary alternatives for those students.
As information about the school district reopening becomes available, it will be posted on the city Web site, sent to local news and radio stations, sent to teachers through the phone tree system and families through the district’s Immediate Response Information System (IRIS). Parents and teachers can also call 281-425-4600 to listen to recorded messages providing updates.
Baytown Sun Published September 18, 2008 Less than one month after Baytown’s third high school opened, rumors are flying that students will once again be attending just two campuses thanks to Hurricane Ike.
But Goose Creek school board officials hope to put an end to this gossip before it spreads any further.
The truth is, at this point, no decisions have been made yet. And they won’t be until district employees can accurately assess the damages suffered by each campus, and determine what that means for the fate of each school.
Goose Creek director of support services Pete Cote, (who has been the district’s emergency management coordinator this past week), said that Robert E. Lee High School will not be closing, although the campus did suffer the most water damage.
“Right now, we have a restoration service in the building,” Goose Creek Superintendent Barbara Sultis said Wednesday.
What mechanical problems this will cause is unknown at this point, but district officials expect to have their answer by Monday night’s board meeting, Sultis said.
The Lee gym is intact, and only the front of the building that houses the administration offices was partially destroyed, she said.
The windows at Lee have been boarded up and adhesive was put across the top of the main building to waterproof it.
“Water did not enter all of the buildings at Lee, just the main building,” Sultis said.
It’s also untrue that the storm surge caused the school to flood.
“The creek went wel up the parking lot but it never entered the building,” Sultis said.
Sultis and Cote said none of the Goose Creek campuses suffered any major structural damage.
But, Sultis added, “we have extensive fencing damage throughout the district.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, half of the campuses had power, but that does not mean they are ready to reopen, or that staff can visit the schools.
“Right now, we’re not allowing anybody into any building,” Sultis said.
Getting the electricity going is only the first of many steps that will need to be taken for the schools to reopen.
“That’s only part of it,” Sultis said. “Then you have to test all of these systems.”
As each school gets power, teams can go in and check out air conditioning systems, alarms, refrigerators, pipes and everything else that must be in working order before students return.
Because the district can’t find glass in Baytown, officials are looking at a five-day waiting period until they can even replace broken windows.
Sultis also said that all Goose Creek students will return to class at one time, not as their school becomes ready to reopen.
“When all of our students can be housed in facilities, that’s when we’re going to start school,” Sultis said.
If a few of the schools can’t open with the rest, then the district will look at other temporary alternatives for those students.
As information about the school district reopening becomes available, it will be posted on the city Web site, sent to local news and radio stations, sent to teachers through the phone tree system and families through the district’s Immediate Response Information System (IRIS). Parents and teachers can also call 281-425-4600 to listen to recorded messages providing updates.