Less than two weeks before school is scheduled to start the Deweyville Independent School District is working hard to have facilities ready for students to attend classes. Deweyville School Superintendent Kevin Clark said the community is recovering from March’s record flood. He has seen a lot of construction going on in the neighborhoods and people getting settled back in.
Not everyone will be coming back to Deweyville. Clark indicated, “We probably lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 32 students who have been displaced because of losing their homes and don’t have a place to come back to.” The superintendent added that the school district is trying to reach out to families during registration to find out what the housing situation is for all the students, and they will have a better idea of the status when the enrollment process is complete.
Clark reported the elementary school which was seriously damaged in the flood had to be gutted and will not be in use at the beginning of this school year. Temporary buildings have been brought to the high school campus to house about 300 students in kindergarten through fifth grades. Located behind the Deweyville football stadium the portable buildings are being fitted with electricity and plumbing.
Clark is thankful for the generous response since the flood to the present time by schools and citizens in general to Deweyville. “You’ve always heard that God does work in mysterious ways as seen by the outpouring of love and generosity from surrounding school districts and from Region 5 in Beaumont. People from all over the country have made donations, books for the libraries, supplies for the students, desks, and computers. It’s amazing the number of people that made a conscious effort to be helpful.” Clark exclaimed.
The superintendent indicates the school district’s main goal has been to provide a safe and secure environment for all of its students. Clark is hopeful the portable buildings will be ready in time for classes to begin. Every day the Deweyville School District is making a little more progress to reaching its main goal Clark states, “We may have to ride it out to the very last day to know if we’re going to actually be in the new temporary buildings by the time August 22 rolls around. Regardless, either way if we’re in the portable buildings or if we’re in the high school we’ll be ready for students on the 22nd.”
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