BRYAN, TX — On March 8, the Bryan ISD school board voted to approve repairs at three of their campuses damaged as a result of last month's historic Arctic blast.
At the meeting, it was discussed that over $300,000 worth of damages will be covered by insurance, helping to replace the HVAC unit at Jones elementary, the boiler at Milam elementary, and the gym floor over at Stephen F. Austin.
However, it wasn't all doom and gloom for the Brazos school district. As the Monday meeting also noted the hard work and dedication, provided by the district's maintenance department.
"As we see gathered behind us, today is a special day for us. To take a moment, and say thank you, to the critical workers in this district and we cannot express enough our gratitude to all of you, all of the time, but especially with this last freeze that we had," shared Christie Whitbeck, Superintendent of Bryan ISD at the March 8 school board meeting.
From there, Bryan ISD chief of staff, Ginger Carrabine, elaborated on the 'heroic' and 'herculean' work performance of their entire maintenance department.
"These guys, I would venture to say, saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars, probably in the millions, by doing what they did to prevent the catastrophic damage that happened in other school districts," Carrabine noted. "It wasn't because they had to, it wasn't because it was their job, they went above and beyond the call of duty to literally get out, in ice-covered roads, to do the work they did."
As their token of appreciation, the Bryan ISD board members distributed boxed lunches and swag bags to their maintenance employees at the meeting.