More Than One-Third Of Dallas ISD Schools Damaged During Winter Storms
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Frozen pipes don't play favorites as 131 of them busted in Dallas ISD, damaging 113 campuses, more than a third of the district's schools.
"The last five or six days, it was non-stop, around the clock," says David Bates, DISD Asst. Supt. Maintenance & Facilities. "Folks sleeping where we can, taking a nap where we can and getting right back at it."
The campus restoration effort a lot more complicated than flipping a switch.
"It's 'fix the pipe, fix the surface area, restore the water, restore the HVAC, make sure the air quality is good'," explains Bates, "make sure the water is ready for kids to drink. Yeah. The whole 9 yards."
The hard work and non-stop effort paying off, though. Bates says more than half of the damaged schools have been repaired. Then there's the handful that he calls the "problem" children.
"Some of our more significant breaks, where the domestic water line broke, or we have to bring the electric back online; but other than those handful, we are going to be ready to receive students again on Wednesday."
Meanwhile, other school communities showing showing their resilience as well-- they're working today to support each other.
"We noticed that a lot of students were in need, so we wanted to be there for our kids," says Bryan Adams High Principal Ryan Bott.
In an effort called 'BA Cares', the Bryan Adams school community organizing a two-day donation drive to collect food and household staples.
"And then at 5:00 tomorrow, we are going to just see how much stuff we have and at that point start getting it out to our kids and their families," says Bott.
Because whether collecting donations or working to repair the damage, 'family', staffers say makes the difference.
"A lot of our employees, they went to school in DISD, their kids go to school in DISD," says Bates. "I mean, Dallas ISD becomes a part of us. So we will make it right."