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Judy Maxwell (1971)
FYI.....Scarborough Elementary that some of us went to has still not been able to open back up since Harvey hit. The students are being sent to another school until all repairs can be made. Article says:
"District officials are working to relocate students attending nine campuses that sustained the heaviest flood damage. They are Askew, Braeburn, Hilliard, Kolter, Mitchell, Robinson and Scarborough elementary schools; Burbank Middle School; and Liberty High School. Combined they served about 6,500 students last year."
Carranza said three of those campuses likely won't reopen this year, though he didn't specify which. Students in those schools are expected to be relocated to now-vacant buildings.
The remaining six schools could be closed for a few weeks or months, Carranza said.
Students attending those six will be temporarily sent to existing Houston ISD schools, where they will share space, or other vacant facilities.
"I'm excited that we're getting some normalcy back to our kids. I think it's important for them to have a consistent place for them to be every day," said Houston ISD board vice chair Rhonda Skillern-Jones, whose district includes Hilliard and Scarborough elementary schools.
"I don't think it will go perfect. This is our first time doing it, and there will be some kinks that we'll have to work through. But I think, overall, it's the best thing."
Carranza said he does not anticipate any "split shifts" at campuses, with one group of students attending class at a building in the morning and another group arriving at the same building in the afternoon. Humble ISD has used that tactic to accommodate the 2,800 displaced students from Kingwood High School, which could be closed for the year due to flood damage.
As the financial costs to Houston ISD come into view, administrators are beginning to assess how to pay the estimated $700 million repair bill.
The district's insurers have been on-site in recent days, and funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are expected to help defray the costs of repairs. Carranza called on state officials to dip into Texas' $10 billion "rainy day" fund to help cover expenses, but Gov. Greg Abbott has said he doesn't intend to call a special session for legislators to authorize "rainy day" funds on Harvey recovery.
District officials don't yet know how much, if any, of Harvey's cost will come out of the district's budget. Board members passed a budget in June that tapped the district's "rainy day" fund to plug a $106 million shortfall. Projections showed the district fund would have about $246 million at the end of fiscal 2017-18, below the state-recommended total of $275 million.
"We were already in a precarious financial position," Skillern-Jones said. "I know the insurance company definitely has to do their part. I don't think there's a way, without philanthropic giving and the state opening their coffers, that the district will be whole."
JUDY
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