Katy ISD's Swift and Coordinated Response to Hurricane Beryl Ensures Safety and Continuity
The strength of Hurricane Beryl may have come as a surprise to many, but Katy ISD was at the ready with its well-rehearsed weather response protocol, aided in large part by essential operations and safety personnel stationed across the district’s 181 square miles.
An early decision was made to close the district on Monday, July 8. Turns out, it was a good one, as 39 Katy ISD campuses and support buildings were without power following high winds and rain. That same day, maintenance and operations crews, and Katy ISD police officers, were deployed to begin early assessments of the district’s infrastructure for safety hazards and energy needs. Administration simultaneously worked alongside CenterPoint Energy to draw up agreements for the district’s two stadiums to serve as hubs, better positioning the utility company to respond to area power needs.
(Source: Katy ISD)“Our district’s police department and emergency management staff mobilized prior to the storm and continues working now in recovery,” said Ruben Martinez, Emergency Management & School Safety Director for Katy ISD. “Partnerships previously established between Katy ISD, other local emergency responder agencies, and utility companies, have proven very effective in allowing for efficient collaboration to get our district and community up and running as soon as possible.”
The district has also partnered with the City of Katy and Fort Bend County to host a local cooling site. From today until July 14, residents looking to escape the summer heat can board an air-conditioned charter bus, located in the west parking lot of the Leonard Merrell Center, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The Katy Summer Academic Term, athletic, fine arts, and STEAM camps weren’t the only student activities delayed by the storm’s impact. Dedicated staff and students were at the district’s Agricultural Sciences Center, checking on nearly 80 student animal projects housed there for the upcoming fair and rodeo season. Many of the animals will be shown at the Fort Bend County and the Harris County fairs, both scheduled for later this fall.
(Source: Katy ISD)Even during ongoing recovery efforts, ensuring that the community’s children had access to food resources remained a major priority for the district. Massive power outages drove the decision to close the district through Sunday, but because of the food security needs across the community, Katy ISD’s dedicated Food Service teams were at two sites serving free meals to kids under 18 during the Wednesday and Thursday of the storm aftermath.
“Even in the midst of recovery, we want to continue providing much-needed meals for our students and families,” said Donna Pittenger, Katy ISD’s Executive Director of Nutrition & Food Service. “Our Summer Meals program is a lifeline for families, especially as some are enduring prolonged power outages.”
(Source: Katy ISD)With much of the power restored across Katy ISD facilities now, the district plans to reopen Monday, July 15. Still, the swift response efforts of internal teams including Maintenance & Operations, Technology, Finance, and Communications departments, along with many other employees committed to keeping the district running smoothly, are ongoing. Likewise, the district’s Safety and Security Analysis Center (SSAC) is continuing to be a critical part of ongoing recovery response efforts, providing real-time surveillance to operations and maintenance crews. Staffed around the clock by Katy ISD emergency response personnel, the SSAC enables the district to promptly dispatch intel and resources to teams on the ground.
“Houston weather is unpredictable, but our operations teams and police department have well-honed systems in place to keep our buildings safe,” said Katy ISD Ted Vierling, Chief Operations Officer. “Assessing our facilities is an ongoing practice. The priority is always to get schools safely reopened and students back in the classrooms.”
Source: Katy ISD
