BRAZORIA COUNTY, Texas – Parts of Alvin are still reeling from the aftermath of a powerful EF-2 tornado that struck the area on Saturday. The storm left a path of destruction, including homes, schools, and local businesses, with residents and officials scrambling to assess the damage and begin recovery efforts.
MORE: Alvin ISD elementary school students to be temporarily relocated after tornado damages campus
The tragedy of the storm hit home for one family when 47-year-old Jamie Brown tragically lost her life. The tornado ripped apart her manufactured home, sending it flying hundreds of feet through the air. Despite the efforts of emergency responders, Brown’s life was claimed by the storm.
Alvin ISD sustained the heaviest damage at Walt Disney Elementary School.
Monday, Alvin ISD’s school board held an emergency meeting that essentially allows the district to circumvent normal procurement rules, in order to get essential rebuilding efforts on track more quickly.
“The board passed a resolution that we’re able to bypass some committee rules for purchasing, which we need to go ahead and we need to make some purchases that probably would be hindered by the procurement laws,” Superintendent Carol Nelson said Monday.
An army of clean-up workers could be seen on campus Monday.
But Walt Disney Elementary, with significant damage, will not be ready for students by next Tuesday, when kids return to classes from Winter Break.
“We’re in the process right now of working with the transportation department and families that we will bus them to another site at open school that we currently have, that we were using for training and things of that nature. But we have to set it up as a whole new elementary school. So that’s what we’re currently working on now,” Superintendent Nelson said.
The Alvin ISD building that Walt Disney Elementary school students will be using temporarily is at the ISD’s Rosharon Road Center, 1910 Rosharon Road.
It was not clear Monday how long Walt Disney Elementary, which was built in the late 70s, would be out of commission.
