Houston ISD focuses on safe campus for students and staff before classes start amid recent storm damage

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Schools and grounds across HISD have been battered by rounds of storms, leaving some campuses racing to be safe and presentable for the first day of class on Monday.

“This year, it did sneak up on us because of the weather issues we had,” Marshall Middle School parent Steve Bermudez said.

ABC13 was there when volunteers came together to clear debris from Marshall Middle School. But in that cleanup process, more potentially dangerous conditions were found.

RELATED: Parent on HISD letting volunteers clear storm damage: ‘That’s just lazy’

A downed light pole revealed wires right next to a common area shared by the school and public library. Family members of Marshall Middle students said they’ve been bounced around between CenterPoint and Public Works, but they are getting mixed messages on whether the wires are live, and who should fix it.

311 told ABC13 it’s a CenterPoint problem. ABC13 asked CenterPoint about fixing the issue before the first day of school.

“They may grab it cause it’s exposed so that would be a dangerous situation for them,” Bermudez said.

Sinclair Elementary was one of the worst-hit schools during the storms, and parents were bringing kiddos on Friday to meet teachers.

“We’re excited. We’re a little anxious because we will be going through our first drop-off experience on Monday,” Saint Claire Elementary parent Matthew Peterson said.

While damage can still be seen on the exterior building, families said the main building seems in great shape.

“They’ve done a really good job of assuring us that they were going to stay on track to have all the students in school on the first day of school here and they have,” Peterson said.

With the first day of school a weekend away, families said their fingers are crossed that schools are operational and safe.

“The way the cleanup efforts are I’m hoping that the efforts internally are a lot better than what they’re showing outside,” Bermudez said.

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