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On Thursday, the Terrebonne Parish School Board convened for the first time since Ida struck southeast Louisiana as a powerful Category 4 on August 29.
In a somber emergency meeting that brought board members to tears, Superintendent Philip Martin detailed some of the destruction Ida dealt parish schools. “Every school in Terrebonne Parish received damages — some catastrophic, some not as catastrophic,” he said. “It’s an emotional thing…Devastation is a tough thing. But Terrebonne Parish is a tough place, and we are tough people.”
Martin showed pictures of blown walls, standing water inside school facilities and torn-down roofs. He said although some schools might look okay from afar, they too have some type of damage. “At South Terrebonne, when you look at the building, it doesn’t look to be all that bad — looking at it from the road,” he said. “There’s not one square inch of the interior South Terrebonne, not one square inch, that’s not damaged…What’s behind the walls, sometimes, is even worse.”
The employees of the Terrebonne Parish School District (TPSD) wanted to visit schools to help with cleanup efforts following the storm, Martin said, but he had to tell them not to go to the facilities because “they’re dangerous places.”
The superintendent vowed to get students back in the classroom, even though it will be a lengthy process and some schools may reopen before others. “We are going to have a plan where every kid has a place to go to school. And all plans are very dynamic…But it will be a combination of many things: school sharing; piggybacking; utilizing other facilities for schools; one in the morning, one in the afternoon; and all of the above,” said Martin, who added that the plan will be shared once it’s refined and definitive.
He also noted that schools are in the waterproofing phase right now, and contractors are in the process of shrink-wrapping the buildings. The facilities will also be dried, cleaned, and sanitized — prioritizing the schools that can open sooner, Martin said. Schools receiving electricity will accelerate the process of reopening, he said.
As far as students who transfer to other districts while waiting for their schools to open, Martin said TPSD will offer flexibility during this emergency period. “We will make things work,” he said.
Board member Debi Benoit added that faculty and staff will continue to get paid, even though schools are closed.
School Board President Gregory Harding asked about sports, noting that for the folks in the Terrebonne community, it’s about more than just the game. “This is therapeutic for everybody…It gives them [children] hope. Anytime you got hope, then you have promise. If it can just break the monotony for a couple of hours on a Friday, or Thursday, or whenever they play to get away from what we’re dealing with — that’s a plus for all of us.”
Harding also said coaches from other areas are calling Terrebonne student-athletes to play for them. Martin assured Harding that school officials will get students back on the field.
The Board also declared a State of Emergency, which is required to receive FEMA assistance and gives Martin more authority when making decisions in the school system’s recovery.
School board members, with themes of unity, took the time to express support for the superintendent and the community and provided hopeful messages. “We’re going to survive this,” Clyde Hamner said. “I look at this as an opportunity. It’s a new beginning for the Terrebonne Parish School System.”
