Superintendent tells WSLR about the logistical challenges.
By Johannes Werner
Original Air Date: October 18, 2024
Host: Sarasota schools reopened Wednesday, less than a week after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Sarasota County. We talked to Superintendent Terry Connor about some of the challenges. Pardon the noise during the interview.
Johannes Werner: None of the school buildings sustained any major damage, Connor said. Still, there were obstacles to overcome. Cleaning classrooms, hallways and cafeterias after some schools served as shelters during the storm was one thing. Next was making sure debris on roadways was cleared so school buses could run their routes.
Another challenge was restocking school cafeterias that had been depleted after serving 38,000 meals to shelter evacuees during the storm.
Evacuees at Booker High. Photo: Werner
Terry Connor: Food was one of our barriers, right? We lost a lot of food as a result of power outages. So it was actually through collaboration with other school districts that we were able to swap some deliveries—
JW: Was that your food that was attributed as a shelter function?
TC: Right. So our food that we use typically for students during lunches was actually used during the shelter process. So we fed 38,000. On top of that with the power outages, we lost a lot of food as a result. And so we had to dispose of that food and then wait for our new deliveries. And some of the challenges with logistics of getting new food in — So we were fortunate to collaborate with our partners over at Hillsborough School District to swap some dates and get our food in a day early so that we could start school.
JW: The school district also reached out to teachers and staffers impacted by the storm, to make sure they get the support they need.
TC: What we did first off is right after the storm hit, I put out a survey to all of our staff and we tried to hit as many communication avenues as possible because we knew connectivity was an issue, whether it be cell phones or email. So fortunately, we’ve got an overwhelming response from our staff that told us what they needed. Whether they had no impacts, mild impacts, moderate or severe. And so we were able to take that data from that survey and pinpoint exactly who had significant problems and connect them to our community partners really quickly.
JW: Reporting for WSLR News, Johannes Werner.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.