LONGVIEW UPDATE: District campuses to reopen Friday, LISD officials to work Thursday to make campuses ready

posted on April 07 - 05:00 AM
By Joe - TexasISD.com
 

Longview ISD officials have decided that campuses will not reopen tomorrow (Thursday) in order to prepare all facilities to reopen Friday, April 8. LISD employees are also not required to report for duty Thursday, unless directed to do so by district administrators.   (07)

While water pressure and capacity drastically improved by Wednesday afternoon, district officials do not feel that the water has returned to safe levels for sanitation purposes at all campuses. 

The district plans to use Thursday to equip all campuses with water bottles, hand sanitizer, and provide the necessary staff training to ensure a deep understanding of boil water notice guidelines, in order to provide the safest situation possible under the conditions.  

District cafeteria and childcare facilities will follow all required guidelines and restrictions under the boiled water advisory safety protocols, and bottled water will be provided at stations throughout all affected campuses. 

Students and staff may also choose to bring their own water bottles to school on Friday, as water fountains will be temporarily disabled until the boil water advisory has been lifted and City water lines have been flushed. 

While much of the City of Longview will remain under a boil water advisory for at least the next 48 hours, the district has acquired 24,000 water bottles for student and staff use on most LISD campuses. Judson Middle and Johnston-McQueen Elementary campuses are the only district facilities not impacted by the outage and boil water advisory. 

Of course, as city public works staff continue to resolve this matter, district plans are subject to change as directives are provided by governing authorities and/or health officials. Longview ISD will be sure to keep you informed online, through all-calls/emails, and our local news media.