BRENHAM ISD ADDRESSING ROOF, WATER DAMAGE AT MULTIPLE CAMPUSES AFTER WEATHER EVENTS

  

Several Brenham ISD facilities are undergoing maintenance and repairs after heavy rain and storms that began last month. 

Following a hailstorm and continued rainfall, major roof and interior water damage were discovered at Brenham Middle School and Brenham Junior High School, with damage also reported at Krause Elementary School and the Early Childhood Learning Center.  Emergency repairs are underway to dry out the inside of campus facilities that took on excessive moisture and apply protective roof coatings to prevent further water intrusion.

Brenham ISD trustees learned about the state of the affected campuses during their meeting on Monday, receiving reports from Belfor Property Restoration and Parsons Roofing.  Parsons Roofing sales representative Jeff Strain said the eventual plan will be to replace all of the damaged roofs.

The elastomeric coating that will be applied to the roofs can last for up to a year.  This will allow time for district officials to determine what their path forward will be for obtaining replacement roofs. 

The time allowed by the coating will also let the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), the district’s insurance carrier, run numbers and assess damages after it provided the district with funding to get the emergency repairs started.  Brenham ISD carries a $1 million insurance deductible.   The final scope and quote for the emergency repairs is expected to be shared with the board at its next scheduled meeting.

Board President Jared Krenek asked if the campus facilities would be taken care of by the time teachers come back to prepare for the start of school.  Belfor Project Manager Aaron Doelitsch said the goal is to have all affected buildings ready by early August, and that crews will work nonstop to make that happen.

Summer programs, like Brenham ISD’s summer meal program, had to be moved to Brenham Elementary School as the roof repair and water mitigation efforts continue.

Krenek said after seeing the damage this widespread, the district has to do something shortly to address it, or else it will continue to face the same problem later on.  Superintendent Clay Gillentine thanked the representatives from Belfor and Parsons for their quick work thus far, and Gillentine and Trustee Shawn Koonce commended the district’s staff members for their flexibility through this transition.