BEAUMONT, Texas — Some parents and teachers are still wondering when school's going to start again at two Beaumont ISD campuses
Dexter Balka has grandchildren at both Beaumont United High School and Fehl-Price Elementary, both of which remain closed because of the flooding Tropical Storm Imelda brought.
"They have to get back in school," Balka said.
Lots of people in south Beaumont are thinking the same thing.
Neither of the schools have set a return date after Imelda swept through the area, damaging both campuses.
"We know they can't stay out a long time. We know the teachers need a job," Balka said.
12News was able to look inside both campuses Wednesday.
What we found was no surprise: fans, plastic and crews working.
"It's not the district's fault what happened. So, for one thing they can't put that on the district," Balka said. "The district is doing everything they can to get our buildings up and the only thing we can do is back them."
Administrators are trying to figure when it will be safe for everyone to return.
The rest of Beaumont ISD's campuses reopen with normal hours on Thursday, including bus routes.
Some of the kids are ready to be back too.
Kaci Evans is a sophomore in high school at Early College High School.
"It's been a lot. We've been under a lot of stress because we had to throw away a lot of our stuff because it got wet," Evans said.
According to Jews Balka, a sixth grader at Marshall Middle School, Imelda hit harder than Harvey.
"This time it's actually worse because Harvey we didn't get no water, but it was to our front door. But this time the water came into our house," Jews said.
Balka hopes administrators find a solution soon.
He said while kids have been out of school, the children in his neighborhood have been helping out with debris and cleanup.
"Only thing they've been doing is helping clean out the house. Every kid on this block here has been helping us," Balka said.
Here are a list of questions 12News asked BISD on Wednesday about United and Fehl-Price's indefinite closures.
A spokesperson provided these answers.
- Does the district have an estimate of how many of its students were affected by the flood?
"We are still collecting data from a student impact survey sent out over the weekend, as well as from our “Reconnect Day,” that was held today at all operational campuses. During this time displaced or students experiencing housing hardship were able to visit their nearest campus to make updates on their temporary address, contact information and transportation arrangements. Teachers have also been instructed to get in touch with each of their students and take down their status. We will be able to have a better idea on just how heavily impacted our student population was in the next few days.
Also, we had about 150 BISD staff who reported they were affected by the flood when our Human Resources department sent out an Impact Survey and made calls home."
- Is there a date set to return to school?
"With the exception of Beaumont United High School and Fehl-Price Elementary School, students will return on Thursday, September 26 at their regularly scheduled time. All buses will run according to their normal schedule. Start date information for Beaumont United and Fehl-Price will be forthcoming as our teams finalize damage assessment."
- Are you guys covered by insurance, do you need to wait for FEMA before you can rebuild?
"Yes, our district is covered by insurance. No, we do not have to wait for FEMA to make any repairs or remediation."
- What, if any, are damages to other schools in the district?
"The rest of our buildings sustained minimal damage."
- What is the damage cost to United?
"We are still assessing the damages and do not currently have an estimated cost."
- Will there be plans to rebuild/renovate before school returns?
"We are working with our staff and professionals to aggressively remediate and repair damages. Assessments are still ongoing and district administration is weighing all options based on timelines given by the professionals."
- What changes will staff and students face when they do return?
"Our staff is eagerly awaiting the return of our students. We are committed to returning to “normal” as quickly as possible. We are working hard to make sure that any disruption caused by the storm is minimized and we are making every moment matter for the remainder of the year."
- Can another location be used for teachers/kids during the closure?
No response.
