The rains keep coming and the saws keep humming as Needville ISD continues the months-long process of recovering from damage left behind by the tornado- and hail-producing thunderstorms that blew through the area overnight on Friday, March 15.
“We have damage from every roof and roof equipment to the bus and vehicle fleets to outdoor equipment, including the track at the stadium,” said Superintendent Curtis Rhodes.
He said it’s likely the roofs at every campus and most of the district’s other facilities will need replaced.
The most severely damaged campuses are the middle and high schools, the latter of which released students early on Thursday, March 21, when another round of storms sent rain into the building through holes in the roof.
Despite the fact that NISD’s maintenance and transportation staff, as well as contractors, got right to work once the storm left the area on Saturday morning, March 16, the amount of damage district-wide means work will be ongoing for quite some time.
“They began by evaluating damages and getting our campuses, fleet, and equipment ready for the students,” Rhodes said. “We are continuing to find new issues as we go. This will be a long process, so we are asking staff, students and everyone to please bear with us as we make the best of what we have.”
Mike Perry, vice president of business development of Armko Industries Inc., said workers are cleaning up around the campuses in the early morning hours and after school so as not to disturb students. In addition, that work will be stopped during any student testing times.
However, once roofing repairs begin, it will continue until each job is complete.
Reporting to NISD trustees at their March 20 meeting, Perry said all of the membrane at the high school is fractured and a significant number of ceiling tiles at that campus and the middle school have been removed due to water damage.
“It’s not going to be a fast process; these are very large buildings,” he said in regard to repairs. “Please just bear with us as we do this.”
Perry also said a large team of contractors, construction workers, roofers, adjusters, engineers and many more are inspecting the damage to each facility.
“Every building in the district is being looked at thoroughly, inside and out,” Rhodes assured trustees.
Although the plan is to work on more than one roof at a time, said Perry, “We’ve been focusing on the buildings that are leaking significantly.”
In an email sent to staff a couple of days after the storm, Rhodes said, “NISD has withstood many challenges in the past and we became better and stronger as a result. This storm event is simply another test of our willpower and dedication. We will row the boat right out of the storm.”
He also thanked staff and students for “being dedicated, tough, and focused on success,” and said as the district enters the time of year for state-mandated assessment testing, “we have the opportunity to once again prove how good we are.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who has damaged personal property from the storm,” he added. “Focus on that beautiful sunset and the calm waters ahead and row onward.”
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