When an unprecedented storm knocked out power and water for many members of our community, AISD staff worked tirelessly to provide supplies, shelter and support.
Staff from across the district showed up to support families, including AISD’s warehouse, construction management, grounds and custodial staff, food service, central office, AISD Police, and more. They opened warming centers, assisted at shelters, made critical repairs to buildings, and delivered supplies. Oftentimes staff would support these efforts without power or water at their own homes, putting others’ needs first.
The AISD warehouse team assisted the City of Austin and the Central Texas Foodbank to deliver emergency food boxes and cases of water to distribute to shelter sites. These sites included the Palmer Event Center, Barrington Elementary, and Mendez Middle School.
The warehouse team moved 4,452 cases of water, 800 boxes of emergency food boxes for families, and 21 pallets of food for AISD kitchens.
Mark Curtis, distribution and logistics supervisor for AISD, said his team had no problems answering the call for the community.
“I think I can speak for the team when I say we are incredibly proud that we can be relied on to serve our district and community during this historic winter storm,” Curtis said. “Our team is amazing and is here to serve no matter what.”
Robert Cervi, the executive director of Construction Management and Facilities at AISD, said when the bell rings his team answers the call.
“This was a team effort,” Cervi said. “It included construction management, purchasing, maintenance, housekeeping, and grounds all coordinating to get buildings open, assess them, find out where we had problems and then reach out to contractors to start repairs.”
Many staff without water and power still showed up to help. They walked grounds of campuses assessing damages and contacting contractors to fix busted pipes and get power back.
We are so grateful for all of our AISD staff who showed up and put the community first. We thank you for your service to our community.