Last month, a forecasted “weekend storm” turned into nine days of ice, sleet and snow which caused area school districts to close for a week. Most reopened the following Monday morning with a delayed 10 a.m. start time due to icy road conditions on rural bus routes.
While some districts like Gunter ISD returned to campuses to discover burst pipes and damaged air conditioning units, Whitesboro ISD only saw slight damage to its gutter systems. Superintendent Ryan Harper confirmed that the weight of the ice managed to bend and push gutters away from buildings, but “all in all, WISD’s physical plant did very well.”
While existing buildings didn’t experience much effect from the storms, the work on new buildings and additions for the bond projects saw a greater impact from the winter weather. While several of the construction crews were homebound due to ice and snow, some work was able to progress despite the winter storm.
At the new Agri-science Center, workers continued to add walls, insulation and roofing, and the Early Childhood Center (ECC) continued with exterior wall framing as much as possible.
“This weather setback is going to be a challenge to overcome,” Harper said. “However, prior to last week, we have had a very ‘friendly’ winter that allowed quite a bit of progress that a typical winter would not allow.”
As the ground continued to thaw, construction crews were back at it, working to get the buildings completed by their proposed deadlines (Agri-Science Building, 6/30/2026; ECC Building, 8/1/2026; Multi-Purpose Building, 10/22/2026; Auditorium/CTE Addition, 1/1/2027).
More concerning for Harper than the physical impact of the storm on WISD campuses is the impact its resulting five days of school closure has had on curriculum.
“Teachers are already in a crunch to fit everything in, and now they have five fewer days prior to state testing to complete the required curriculum,” Harper said. “WISD teachers are some of the best you’ll find anywhere! Team meetings have already taken place, some while we were home covered in ice, to adjust their timelines to ensure our students will be as prepared as possible.”
Many district families are wondering if WISD will have to make up that week of canceled classes. Texas state law requires students to receive 75,600 minutes of instruction per school year. When planning their calendar year, most schools will schedule a couple of extra days to use in the event of bad weather. However, in cases of extreme weather and school closures, school districts can apply for a waiver from the state to exclude them from meeting that requirement.
Harper confirmed that due to varying schedules, two Whitesboro campuses will have earned enough minutes by the end of the school year to absorb the lost instructional time, placing those campuses in compliance with the 75,600 minutes of instruction rule mandated by state law.
The other two campuses (due to operating on a shorter school day) will fall short of that requirement. Therefore, Harper confirmed that WISD will be seeking a waiver from the state to overlook those missing minutes from the two campuses. If it’s denied, all campuses will have to use the scheduled bad weather days that are built into the school calendar. Once the district has received word from the state, families will be notified about next steps.
