Hurricane Helene’s impact across Greenville County was widespread, causing Greenville County Schools to close for eight days.
The storm left 104 of the district’s 105 facilities without power. Some school buildings and surrounding property sustained damage. Roads across the county became inaccessible and unsafe due to fallen trees, downed power lines and nonfunctioning traffic lights.
Since the storm hit on Sept. 27, the district’s leadership team and staff have worked to assess the damage and implement strategic responses to get school operations back up and running. The Board of Trustees was briefed on the district’s ongoing recovery efforts during a committee of the whole meeting Oct. 8.
Storm response
Over the past week and weekend, district personnel have worked to restore power, repair damage and clear debris across all campuses.
As of Oct. 8, power was restored to all facilities except Greenville Middle School. All facilities were accessible except for one school that had a utility line blocking the driveway. Superintendent Burke Royster anticipated both would be resolved by the end of the day on Oct. 8.
The accessibility and safety of transportation routes were also reviewed by the district before schools could reopen for students and staff. On Oct. 4, more than 300 district personnel drove 9,000 miles to assess the condition of roads throughout the district.
The teams found 1,549 problem areas that would inhibit buses and cars from traveling certain routes. After more roadway cleanup was completed, the teams reassessed route conditions on Oct. 7 and determined that there were still 1,074 problem areas.
As a result, more than 300 bus routes had to be modified by the district’s transportation team. Temporary bus stops were also created throughout the district. Bus drivers practiced these routes on Oct. 8 to prepare for transporting students the following day. According to the district, some routes could be delayed on Oct. 9.
The school district plans to submit an application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to receive reimbursement funding for the district’s cleanup efforts. Royster said that in the past, any reimbursement funding the district received from FEMA has been “more than sufficient.”
Return to classroom
Teachers returned to the classroom for a workday on Oct. 8, with students returning Oct. 9. According to the district, more than 50% of teachers do not have internet access at home and needed time on Oct. 8 to readjust their instructional plans.
Read more about GCS student’s returning to school
No in-person or eLearning took place from Sept. 30 to Oct. 8. Royster said that little instruction took place on Sept. 27 due to the widespread power and internet outages.
To make up for the lost instructional time, the district plans to extend the first quarter of the grading period by five instructional days to Oct. 21. The second-quarter end date will not be changed.
Royster explained the district intends to seek legislative forgiveness for the school days that were missed as a result of Helene.
“We have no intent of altering the school calendar,” Royster said. “Now if, for some reason, we could not get that legislative forgiveness and we’d have to look at what our alternative would be.”
The board also discussed the effect the missing instructional days will have on teachers’ ability to cover the needed content for the end-of-semester standardized tests. Jeff McCoy, associate superintendent of academics, explained they have instructed teachers to focus on teaching the standards that will be heavily tested instead of untested supplementary units.
For more information, visit greenville.k12.sc.us/News/main.asp?titleid=2410helene3.
