It appears more students will be back in the classroom Wednesday as the winter weather appears to be getting further behind us. Education reporter Wayne Carter looks at some of the last minute steps schools took Tuesday to get things back up and running.
It was a mixed bag when it came to schools being in session on Tuesday. Some districts opened their doors while others remained shut down over concerns of everything from heating to broken pipes.
Students in Frisco ISD were back in class on Tuesday. It’s one of several districts like McKinney, Lewisville, and Grapevine-Colleyville ISD that opened their doors after the winter weather.
Some didn’t have such smooth sailing there was a water main break outside the building at Carter Park Elementary in Fort Worth.
DeSoto ISD had one too, there was no flooding in the building, but the problem cut off water to it until city crews could get things under control.
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The districts that closed Tuesday spent the day going through the buildings making sure equipment was up and running, and things were safe for when students return.
"We're receiving about every 30 minutes report of any incidents that are happening out at campuses," said Angelica Ramsey, Superintendent, of Fort Worth ISD.
Ramsey told us the district had a winterization plan long before the temperature dropped, making sure they took steps on the front end to protect pipes and heating units.
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They did the same thing in Dallas ISD.
"In the past, when we had freezes, we've had really bad, broken pipes this year, not so bad. We've had 10 broken pipes, they've been minor, we've been able to clean up that damage, you know, so taking in all of that into account, an extra day to check our campuses and get them ready for our kids and our teachers to return," said David Bates, Chief Operations Officer, Dallas ISD.
That decision though, made it tough for some families, especially those working families who needed to take the day off to stay with kids.
Some parents were upset school was out today in parts of the area, others were upset their kids went back to those districts that opened. Superintendents say making these calls is among the hardest decisions they face.
"Sometimes these decisions don't work for every single family. And what we ask mutually is that we respect one another, and that we understand one another and empathize that while the decision is best for most sometimes it just doesn't work for all," said Ramsey.
They know what has happened before as pipes have thawed and don’t want to go down that road but want to make sure everything is safe and ready for everyone to get back to the classroom.
