A Message from the Superintendent
Dear BISD Community,
Through an immensely challenging week in the State of Texas we have seen, first hand, what makes this community special. Power outages, limited water access and freezing temperatures made it a trying, if not unbearable, week for many in the Big Red Community. Yet throughout this devastating storm, the heart of this community was on display through their generosity and support of each other. As a school district, we strive to make sure we approach our work with clarity, kindness, and unity in purpose by focusing on the well-being of our students, staff and families. We were humbled and proud to see this on display throughout our amazing community.
Now that the ice has begun to melt, we are gathering information to inform our plans for next week. Overall our campuses are physically in good shape. Much thanks goes to the quick action of our facilities staff. When two schools had flooding from ruptured fire safety sprinkler pipes, they coordinated with local fire departments to turn off sprinkler systems in all other campuses. This weekend, operations and custodial staff are inspecting, cleaning and making repairs at schools. Another area we are monitoring is our Transportation Services bus barn. The facility currently does not have power, and we are trying to determine our ability to get fuel for bus transportation.
In addition to the assessment of our facilities, principals are reaching out to their staff to evaluate the hardships they are facing. By supporting our staff, we believe they can be at their best to support our students. While we always believe that face-to-face student learning experiences are the best way to serve our community, we know that we need to fully understand the impact of the last few days on our staff before formulating a plan moving forward.
As always, our desire is to safely resume face-to-face learning for each and every student in Belton ISD as quickly as possible but, as we did during the coldest challenges of the storm, we will approach this decision with our values in mind.
We know our families and staff need clarity on the plan for Monday, so we plan to provide details by 8 p.m. on Saturday on how Belton ISD will resume learning.
Our Belton ISD values - clarity in communication, kindness in approach, and unity in purpose - don’t just apply during emergency situations; they guide our work on a daily basis. Whatever decisions we make regarding next week, know that kindness and grace will remain at the center of our efforts.
Sincerely,
Matt Smith, Ed.D.
Belton ISD Superintendent