by Robbie Owens | CBS 11
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) – The bitter cold that accompanied two winter storms finally loosened their icy grip.
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In north Texas, however, the warming temperatures show the extent of the damage that has already been done to homes and schools.
“We’re seeing problems,” said David Bates, Assistant Superintendent Operations, Dallas ISD. “Since there has been no electricity on a campus for so many hours, sprinkler pipes freeze and burst. Then we need to start the mitigation process. Whenever we plug our appliances in for cleaning, the power is turned off again, and that too it was just a nightmare. “
Arlington ISD reports that 21 schools and two administration buildings have been damaged, and concern over the weekend is that there may be more.
“In some buildings the flooding is quite limited and we can bring it back within a certain period of time,” explains Supt of Arlington ISD. Marcelo Cavazos: “There are much bigger floods in other buildings. Some of our boilers have been compromised [that’s] This is not only expensive, it also takes time. “
In Wiley, Supt. David Vinson went to Facebook to reassure and warn.
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“Here’s the thing,” Vinson explained while standing in a flooded room, “I’m at Dodd Elementary and we’re going to see a lot of it: Pipes burst. This is the third or fourth campus we’re dealing with right now.”
The Arlington and Dallas principals say the district officials will be checking the buildings all weekend before determining how and when classes will resume.
“I can tell you today that there are some buildings that we don’t expect to be operational by Monday,” says Supt. Cavazos. And yet, he says, AISD leaders are well aware that families and staff have been dealing with similar struggles after the storms.
“Even if you have to reckon with virtual lessons in some cases – although it sounds like it – when you have to boil water when you have to wait for electricity and unstable internet, these things are put together very quickly,” says Cavazos.
Across the region, school staff are working as quickly as possible and promise to update parents when they know more.
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“Our main employees, we’ve been through a lot!” says DISDs Asst. Supt. Bates. “We dealt with a tornado, we dealt with COVID-19 and I am really proud of the DISD staff. We will take care of that too. “
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